Icelandic parliamentary election, 2009
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A parliamentary election was held in Iceland on 25 April 2009[1] following strong pressure from the public as a result of the Icelandic financial crisis.[2] The Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement, which formed the outgoing coalition government under Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, both made gains and now together have an overall majority of seats in the Althing (Iceland's parliament). The Progressive Party also made gains, and the new Citizens' Movement, formed after the January 2009 protests, gained four seats. The big loser was the Independence Party, which had been in power for 18 years until January 2009: it lost a third of its support and nine seats in the Althing.
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[edit] Background
There had been weekly protests in front of the Althing since the collapse of Iceland's three commercial banks in October 2008. These protests intensified with the return of the Althing from Christmas recess on 20 January 2009.[3] Three days later, Prime Minister Geir Haarde of the Independence Party announced that he was withdrawing from politics for health reasons (he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer), and promised early elections for 9 May. However, the Independence Party wished to retain the Prime Minister's post, which proved unacceptable to their coalition partners the Social Democratic Alliance: the government collapsed on 26 January 2009.[4]
After consultations with all the political parties represented in the Althing, the President asked the Social Democratic Alliance to form a new government. This proved to be a minority coalition with the Left-Green Movement, with the support of the Progressive Party and the Liberal Party, which was sworn in on 1 February.[5][6] Former Social Affairs Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became Prime Minister.
The date of the elections was one of the agreements between the coalition partners. The Social Democrats preferred 9 May, while the Left-Greens wanted elections in early April: the intermediate position of the Progressive Party, 25 April, was adopted.[7] The three parties also agree to convene a constitutional assembly to discuss changes to the Constitution.[8] There was no agreement on the question of an early referendum on prospective EU membership, an issue which divided the coalition partners.[9]
[edit] Parties
The Progressive Party was the first of the historic parties to change leadership after the 2008 financial crisis, when Guðni Ágústsson resigned as both party leader and Althing member on 17 November 2008. Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson was elected party chairman on 18 January 2009, despite not being a member of the Althing at the time.[10] One of Sigmundur Davíð's first actions as party leader was to call for early elections and to offer the support of the party's seven Althing members to an interim coalition of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement.[11]
Independence Party chairman Geir Haarde announced his retirement from politics on 23 January 2009, revealing that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer which required urgent treatment. He was succeeded by Bjarni Benediktsson at the party's convention on 29 March 2009.[12][13] The party also proposed to call for two referendums on the EU – one on starting entry talks (which could be held by summer 2010), and another on membership after negotiations are over.[14]
Social Democrat leader Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir had also been unwell since September 2008 with a benign brain tumour which had kept her out of the public eye for much of the financial crisis. Although initially she had planned to remain in control of the party while fellow Social Democrat Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir served as Prime Minister,[15] Ingibjörg Sólrún announced on 8 March 2009 that she could not guarantee that her health was good enough to continue to serve the public.[16] Jóhanna had previously stated she did not want to become party leader, but changed her mind in mid-March and announced she would stand for party leadership, citing strong encouragement from many party members as the reason.[17] She was elected, as expected, with a strong majority of 97% of the vote at the party congress of 27–29 March 2009.
Two new parties were formed in the aftermath of the January protests: the Citizens' Movement (Borgarahreyfingin) and the Democratic Movement (Lýðræðishreyfingin).[18] Both contested all six constituencies in the 2009 elections. A third new party, L-List of Sovereignty Supporters (L-listi fullveldissinna), withdrew its candidacy on 3 April.[19] The Icelandic Movement – Living Land (Íslandshreyfingin – lifandi land), which had unsuccessfully contested the 2007 election on a green platform, merged into the Social Democratic Alliance at the March 2009 party congress.[20]
[edit] Campaign
Just a week before the election, the Independence Party announced that its party committee on Europe had decided to call for steps to adopt the euro as Iceland's currency (with the help of the IMF).[21] Shortly before the election, Johanna Sigurðardóttir stated that her priority, if returned to government, would be EU membership (she stated she was certain that there would be an agreement with the Left-Green Movement on EU membership), and she predicted that Iceland would adopt the euro within four years.[22] (see Iceland and the European Union).
[edit] Opinion polling
| Party | 2007 Result | February 2009[23] | 11–17 March 2009[24] | late March 2009[25] | 3 April 2009[26] | 9 April 2009[27] | 16 April 2009[27] | 21 April 2009[28] | 21-23 April 2009[29] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Party | 36.6% | 25.8% | 26.5% | 29.1% | 25.4% | 25.7% | 23.3% | 27.3% | 23.2% |
| Left-Green Movement | 14.3% | 24.1% | 24.6% | 25.8% | 27.2% | 26% | 28.2% | 25.7% | 26.3% |
| Social Democratic Alliance | 26.8% | 27.7% | 31.2% | 31.7% | 29.4% | 32.6% | 30.7% | 32.2% | 29.8% |
| Progressive Party | 11.7% | 15% | 11.3% | 7.5% | 10.7% | 9.8% | 11.1% | 6.8% | 12.0% |
| Liberal Party | 7.3% | 2.5% | 1.3% | 1.8% | — | 1.1% | 2% | 0.7% | 1.5% |
| Citizens' Movement | — | 2.5% | — | 3.6% | 4.4% | 4.9% | 6.8% | ||
| L-List of Sovereignty Supporters | — | 1.9% | — | ||||||
| Democracy Movement | — | 2.0% | 0.5% | ||||||
[edit] Result
| Party | Leader(s) | Votes | % | ± | Seats | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) | Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir | 55,758 | 29.79 |  1.16 |
20 | 2 |
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| Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) | Bjarni Benediktsson, Jr. | 44,371 | 23.70 |  9.98 |
16 | 9 |
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| Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin-grænt framboð) | Steingrímur Sigfússon | 40,581 | 21.68 | 12.87 |
14 | 5 |
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| Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) | Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson | 27,699 | 14.80 | 2.93 |
9 | 2 |
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| Citizens' Movement (Borgarahreyfingin) | No designated leader | 13,519 | 7.22 | 7.2 |
4 | 4 |
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| Liberal Party (Frjálslyndi flokkurinn) | Guðjón Kristjánsson | 4,148 | 2.22 | 5.16 |
0 | 4 |
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| Democratic Movement | — | 1,107 | 0.59 | — | — | — | |
| Valid votes | 187,183 | 96.50 | |||||
| Invalid votes | 566 | 0.29 | |||||
| Blank votes | 6,226 | 3.21 | |||||
| Total | 193,975 | 100.00 | — | 63 | — | ||
| Electorate and voter turnout | 227,896 | 85.12 | |||||
| Source: Statistics Iceland | |||||||
[edit] MPs
| Reykjavík North | Reykjavík South | Southwest | Northwest | Northeast | South |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Key: SDA = Social Democratic Alliance; IP = Independence Party; LGM = Left-Green Movement; PP = Progressive Party; CM = Citizens' Movement. Source: Morgunblaðið[30] |
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[edit] References
- ^ Kosningar 9. maí og Geir hættir, RÚV, 23 January 2009, http://ruv.is/heim/frettir/frett/store64/item247505/. (Icelandic)
- ^ Iceland announces early election, BBC News, 23 January 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7847317.stm.
- ^ International Herald-Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2009/01/24/europe/OUKWD-UK-ICELAND.php.
- ^ Iceland’s Ruling Coalition Splits Following Protests, Bloomberg, 26 January 2009, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=avntV39aM_7I&refer=europe.
- ^ New Iceland government under negotiation, IceNews, 27 January 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/01/27/new-icelandic-government-being-negotiated/.
- ^ No new Icelandic government this weekend, IceNews, 31 January 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/01/31/no-new-icelandic-government-this-weekend/.
- ^ Framsókn ver nýja stjórn, mbl.is, 31 January 2009, http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/2009/01/31/framsokn_satt_vid_nyja_stjorn/. (Icelandic)
- ^ "Iceland to Convene Constitutional Parliament", Iceland Review, 30 January 2009, http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_id=319192.
- ^ "Iceland's Social Democrats Want a Vote on EU in May", Iceland Review, 27 January 2009, http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=319006.
- ^ "Sigmundur kjörinn formaður", Morgunblaðið, 18 January 2009, http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/2009/01/18/sigmundur_kjorinn_formadur/. (Icelandic)
- ^ Opposition attempts to call Iceland elections, bypassing PM, IceNews, 22 January 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/01/22/opposition-attempt-to-call-iceland-elections-bypassing-pm/.
- ^ "New Chairman Elected for Iceland’s Independents", Iceland Review, 30 March 2009, http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=322100, retrieved 26 April 2009.
- ^ New leader of the Independence Party in Iceland selected, IceNews, 29 March 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/03/29/new-party-leader-of-the-independence-party-in-iceland/.
- ^ "Iceland's biggest party wants two EU referendums", EU Business, 28 March 2009, http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1238178722.13.
- ^ Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir to run for re-election, IceNews, 1 March 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/03/01/ingibjorg-solrun-gisladottir-to-run-for-re-election/.
- ^ Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir quits, IceNews, 8 March 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/03/08/ingibjorg-solrun-gisladottir-quits/.
- ^ Johanna Sigurdardottir changes mind, becomes likely party leader, IceNews, 20 March 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/03/20/johanna-sigurdardottir-changes-mind-becomes-likely-party-leader/.
- ^ Elections in Iceland this weekend, IceNews, 22 April 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/04/22/elections-in-iceland-next-weekend/.
- ^ Fullveldissinnar draga framboð til baka vegna ólýðræðislegra aðstæðna, L-listi fullveldissinna, 3 April 2009, http://l-listinn.blog.is/blog/l-listinn/entry/844910/. (Icelandic)
- ^ Major political party conferences underway in Iceland, IceNews, 29 March 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/03/29/major-political-party-conferences-underway-in-iceland/.
- ^ Independence Party wants the euro, IceNews, 19 April 2009, http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/04/19/independence-party-wants-the-euro/.
- ^ Barclays To Lend More GBP11bn To UK Households, Businesses, EasyBourse, 23 April 2009, http://www.easybourse.com/bourse-actualite/marches/iceland-pm-predicts-euro-adoption-within-four-years-report-654012.
- ^ Iceland’s Government Wins 60 Percent Approval Rating, Iceland Review Online, February 17, 2009
- ^ Left coalition still widely liked, IceNews, March 21, 2009
- ^ Iceland Places Social Alliance in First Place, Angus Reid Global Monitor, March 30, 2009
- ^ Latest Iceland opinion poll results, IceNews, April 3, 2009
- ^ a b Samfylkingin mælist áfram stærst, Ruv, April 9, 2009
- ^ Ruling Social Alliance Leads in Iceland, Angus Reid Global Monitor, April 21, 2009
- ^ Síðasta könnun fyrir kosningar, Ruv, April 24, 2009
- ^ Kosningar, mbl.is, http://mbl.is/mm/frettir/kosningar/, retrieved 2009-04-26. (Icelandic)
[edit] External links
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Wikinews has related news: Icelandic centre-left coalition secures majority in parliamentary elections |
- Guide to Iceland's Parliamentary Elections 2009: responses from the political parties to a questionnaire from the Reykjavík Grapevine
- NSD: European Election Database - Iceland publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1991-2009
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