Social & Political

The IP-PP bromance turns sour

May 3, 2013

Ah, everyone, these are farcical days in Icelandic politics. Old Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson still hasn’t formed a government, he made a decision that he would speak to the heads of all the other parties first, and of course the pundits have been having a field day interpreting just what this means. Meanwhile, the Independence Party [...]

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What went wrong in Iceland

April 29, 2013

In the wake of yesterday’s election results, a lot of people – especially abroad – are scratching their heads, perplexed about what actually went wrong in Iceland. After all, we had a “people’s revolt” four years ago, a government took over that was supposed to change everything, and reports of Iceland’s miraculous economic recovery have [...]

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What Iceland’s election results really mean

April 28, 2013

If you’re reading this, you probably know that we had elections here in Iceland yesterday.* The last time I posted, we were pretty sure that the Progressive Party was going to bag these elections, as they were leading quite substantially in the polls. In the end, however, the Independence Party – the main culprit in [...]

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The probable results of Iceland’s upcoming elections

April 23, 2013

This coming Saturday, Icelanders head to the polls in national elections. The last elections, four years ago, were historic. We had just had an economic meltdown, and the previous government had collapsed. People’s fury was reflected at polls, with the Independence Party – the party that had ruled Iceland for the previous 18 years – [...]

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On formulating a strategy for Icelandic tourism

April 17, 2013

These days RÚV is running a series of debates with the political parties in the running for the upcoming elections. Each debate focuses on a theme, and last night the theme was was natural resources and environmental issues. It may come as a surprise to some people that tourism falls under this category – although [...]

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The Independence Party and its spectacular free-fall

April 12, 2013

We’ve got elections coming up here in Iceland, and consequently there is a lot of activity in the political arena. Amazingly we’re also seeing some monumental changes – things that most people had not even dreamed of. Last night was one such happening. RÚV [Icelandic National Broadcaster] is the main election coverage medium and they’re [...]

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The real media scare. Lest we forget.

July 9, 2012

The DV editorial today is about the silencing that takes place in Icelandic society, specifically in the media. It provides a needed refresher of how things were here before the crash, when the media was owned by the oligarchs who went on to virtually bankrupt the country: For example, many ministers from the Independence Party [...]

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On the results of Iceland’s presidential election

July 1, 2012

So the outcome of yesterday’s presidential election is now clear. Incumbent President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson came out on top with nearly 53% of the votes. Þóra Arnórsdóttir, his closest competitor, received just over 33%. Voter turnout was 69%. I am disappointed. Very. Back in 2009, after the Kitchenware Revolution and the subsequent collapse of the [...]

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A guide to Iceland’s presidential candidates 2012

June 26, 2012

As some readers may know, Iceland has presidential elections coming up this weekend. There are six candidates in the running, one of them being the incumbent president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who has already been in office for four election terms, or 16 years. If he is elected, he will be the longest-serving president in Iceland’s [...]

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On the occasion of the opening of the Harpa concert hall

May 13, 2011

This evening will see the official opening of Harpa, Iceland’s new concert hall. The story of Harpa is the stuff of legend – somewhere during the boom years its construction was usurped by one Björgólfur Guðmundsson, former owner and Chairman of the Board of Landsbanki [also former owner of West Ham FC], who planned to [...]

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