Icelandic parliamentary election, 2016

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Icelandic parliamentary election, 2016
Iceland


2013 ← 29 October 2016

All 63 seats in the Althing
32 seats needed for a majority
Turnout 79.19% Decrease2.3
First party Second party Third party
Bjarni Benediktsson vid Nordiska Radets session i Stockholm.jpg Katrin Jakobsdottir, undervisnings- forsknings- og kulturminister i Island, samt samarbejdsminister i Nordisk Ministerrad.jpg Birgitta Jonsdottir 2015.jpg
Leader Bjarni Benediktsson Katrín Jakobsdóttir Birgitta Jónsdóttir[n 1]
Party Independence Left-Green Pirates
Leader since 29 March 2009 24 February 2013 24 November 2012
Last election 19 seats, 26.70% 7 seats, 10.87% 3 seats, 5.10%
Seats won
21 / 63

10 / 63

10 / 63

Seat change Increase2 Increase3 Increase7
Popular vote 54,990 30,166 27,449
Percentage 29.0 15.9 14.5
Swing Increase2.3 Increase5.0 Increase9.4

Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson 2016 (cropped).png Óttarr Proppé, ESC2014 Meet & Greet (crop).jpg
Leader Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson Benedikt Jóhannesson Óttarr Proppé
Party Progressive Viðreisn Bright Future
Leader since 2 October 2016 24 May 2016 31 January 2015
Last election 19 seats, 24.43% Did not contest 6 seats, 8.25%
Seats won
8 / 63

7 / 63

4 / 63

Seat change Decrease11 Increase7 Decrease2
Popular vote 21,791 19,870 13,578
Percentage 11.5 10.5 7.2
Swing Decrease 12.9 Increase10.5 Decrease1.5

Seventh party
Leader Oddný G. Harðardóttir
Party Social Democratic
Leader since 3 June 2016
Last election 9 seats, 12.85%
Seats won
3 / 63

Seat change Decrease6
Popular vote 10,893
Percentage 5.7
Swing Decrease7.1

Prime Minister before election
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson
Progressive
Prime Minister-designate
TBD

The Independence Party emerged as the largest in the Althing, winning 21 of the 63 seats; the Progressive Party, which had won the most seats in 2013, lost more than half its seats as it was overtaken by the Left-Green Movement and the Pirate Party. Of the 63 elected MPs, 30 were female, giving Iceland the highest proportion of female MPs in Europe.[4]Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 29 October 2016. They were due to be held on or before 27 April 2017, but following the 2016 Icelandic anti-government protests, the ruling coalition announced that early elections would be held “in autumn”.

Background[edit]

In early April 2016, following revelations in the Panama Papers, leaks from law firm Mossack Fonseca about the financial dealings of then Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson(Progressive Party) and his wife, there were calls for an early election from the opposition,[5] who planned to present him with a motion of no confidence. Mass protests calling on the Prime Minister to quit followed. Although Sigmundur Davíð had stated he had no intention of resigning, he apparently resigned on 5 April. However, it was later stated by the Prime Minister’s office that he had only taken a temporary leave of absence from his duties.[6][7][5][8][9] The Progressive Party’s deputy leader, Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, became acting Prime Minister the same day.[9]

The President, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, then said he would speak to both coalition parties, Progressive Party and Independence Party, before considering whether to call new elections.[10] Opposition parties continued to press for new elections.[8] On 6 April, Sigurður announced, “We expect to have elections this autumn.”[11] On 11 August, Bjarni Benediktssonmet with opposition parties and later announced that elections would be held on 29 October 2016.[3]

Electoral system[edit]

The 63 members of the Althing were elected using closed list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies of 8 to 13 seats.[12] Of the 63 seats, 54 were elected using constituency results and determined using the d’Hondt method. The remaining nine supplementary seats were awarded to parties that crossed the 5% national electoral threshold in order to give them a total number of seats equivalent to their national share of the vote.[12]

Participating parties[edit]

The final deadline for parties to apply for participation in the parliamentary election was 14 October 2016.

Parties with a list for all constituencies
Parties with a list for only some constituencies

Campaign[edit]

Sigurður Ingi replaced Sigmundur Davíð as the party chairman of the Progressive Party on 2 October 2016.[13]

The Pirate Party announced on 16 October 2016 that they would not participate in post-election negotiations to form a coalition government with either the Progressive Party or the Independence Party.[14] The party did send letters to Viðreisn, Bright Future, Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement about the possibility of forming an alliance prior to the election.[14]

Opinion polls[edit]

Graphical summary of the opinion polls in Iceland since the previous parliamentary election. Each dot corresponds to one poll’s number for party. A smoothing spline is used to show the trends. The scatter of points around the spline curves gives an indication of the uncertainty of the polls. The thin circles at the very right show the results of the election, which for P and D deviate significantly from the polls.

Institute Release date V S P A B D C Others
2016 result 29 Oct 2016 15.91% 5.74% 14.48% 7.25% 11.49% 29.00% 10.48% 5.74%
Gallup 28 Oct 2016 16.5% 7.4% 17.9% 6.8% 9.3% 27.0% 8.8%
MMR 28 Oct 2016 16.2% 6.1% 20.5% 6.7% 11.4% 24.7% 8.9% 5.5%
Háskóli Íslands 27 Oct 2016 16.8% 5.7% 21.2% 6.7% 10.1% 22.5% 11.4% 5.5%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 / Vísir 27 Oct 2016 16.4% 5.7% 18.4% 6.3% 9.9% 27.3% 10.5% 5.5%
MMR 26 Oct 2016 16.0% 7.6% 19.1% 8.8% 10.0% 21.9% 9.3% 7.3%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 / Vísir 26 Oct 2016 16.4% 6.0% 20.3% 5.1% 11.2% 25.1% 10.8% 5.1%
Háskóli Íslands 21 Oct 2016 18.6% 6.5% 22.6% 6.0% 9.1% 21.1% 8.8% 7.3%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 / Vísir 18 Oct 2016 19.2% 6.5% 20.7% 7.4% 8.5% 23.7% 6.6% 7.4%
MMR 14 Oct 2016 14.5% 9.0% 19.6% 8.2% 9.2% 21.4% 10.2% 7.9%
Háskóli Íslands 14 Oct 2016 17.7% 6.9% 17.5% 7.7% 8.6% 21.5% 11.4% 8.7%
Gallup 14 Oct 2016 14.5% 7.1% 18.3% 7.7% 9.8% 22.6% 12.4% 7.6%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 / Vísir 12 Oct 2016 15.1% 7.3% 22.8% 8.2% 8.5% 22.7% 8.4% 7.0%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 / Vísir 5 Oct 2016 12.6% 8.8% 19.2% 6.9% 11.4% 25.9% 6.9% 8.3%
Gallup 30 Sep 2016 15.6% 8.5% 20.6% 4.7% 8.2% 23.7% 13.4% 5.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 / Vísir 28 Sep 2016 12.9% 5.9% 19.9% 3.6% 12.6% 34.6% 7.3% 3.2%
MMR 26 Sep 2016 11.5% 9.3% 21.6% 4.9% 12.2% 20.6% 12.3% 6.7%
MMR 22 Sep 2016 13.2% 8.1% 22.7% 4.1% 11.0% 22.7% 11.5% 6.7%
Gallup 16 Sep 2016 13.5% 8.8% 23.1% 2.9% 9.4% 25.5% 12.2% 4.6%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 / Vísir 8 Sep 2016 12.7% 7.5% 29.5% 2.0% 10.7% 28.2% 6.7% 2.7%
Gallup 6 Sep 2016 16.2% 8.3% 25.8% 2.9% 9.0% 26.3% 10.6% 0.9%
MMR 30 Aug 2016 12.4% 9.1% 22.4% 4.5% 10.6% 24.6% 8.8% 7.6%
Gallup 29 Jul 2016 16.8% 8.0% 25.3% 4.2% 9.9% 26.2% 9.0% 0.6%
MMR 25 Jul 2016 12.9% 8.4% 26.8% 3.9% 8.3% 24.0% 9.4% 6.3%
MMR 7 Jul 2016 18.0% 10.9% 24.3% 2.9% 6.4% 25.3% 6.7% 5.4%
Gallup 29 Jun 2016 15.2% 8.2% 27.9% 3.4% 10.0% 25.1% 9.4% 0.8%
Háskóli Íslands 24 Jun 2016 17.0% 9.0% 28.0% 4.5% 9.5% 19.7% 9.7% 2.6%
Háskóli Íslands 14 Jun 2016 15.9% 7.6% 29.9% 2.9% 11.1% 22.7% 9.1% 0.8%
Háskóli Íslands 4 Jun 2016 16.5% 7.2% 28.3% 3.8% 11.8% 23.9% 7.9% 0.6%
Gallup 1 Jun 2016 16.8% 7.7% 27.4% 4.0% 10.2% 28.5% 4.3% 1.1%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 / Vísir 27 May 2016 18.1% 6.1% 28.7% 2.5% 7.3% 31.5% 5.8%
Háskóli Íslands 17 May 2016 18.9% 8.9% 25.8% 4.8% 8.2% 28.2% 3.5% 1.7%
MMR 13 May 2016 15.8% 7.5% 31.0% 4.9% 10.4% 26.3% 2.5%
Fréttablaðið 12 May 2016 19.8% 7.4% 30.3% 3.1% 6.5% 31.1% 1.8%
Fréttablaðið 6 May 2016 14.0% 8.4% 31.8% 4.0% 8.3% 29.9% 3.6%
MMR 3 May 2016 14.0% 9.7% 28.9% 3.4% 11.2% 27.8% 5.0%
Gallup 30 Apr 2016 18.4% 8.3% 26.6% 5.2% 10.5% 27.0% 3.5% 0.5%
Gallup 13 Apr 2016 19.8% 9.0% 29.3% 5.0% 6.9% 26.7% 2.7% 0.6%
Háskóli Íslands 8 Apr 2016 14.7% 9.5% 30.9% 4.8% 12.9% 23.3% 3.9%
Maskína 8 Apr 2016 20.0% 7.2% 34.2% 5.2% 9.4% 21.3% 2.7%
Gallup 7 Apr 2016 16.7% 7.6% 32.4% 5.6% 10.8% 21.9% 3.3% 1.7%
MMR 6 Apr 2016 12.8% 9.9% 36.7% 5.8% 8.7% 22.5% 3.6%
Fréttablaðið 5 Apr 2016 11.2% 10.2% 43.0% 3.8% 7.9% 21.6% 2.3%
Háskóli Íslands 5 Apr 2016 14.9% 8.1% 39.4% 4.4% 10.0% 18.8% 4.4%
Gallup 31 Mar 2016 11.0% 9.5% 36.1% 3.2% 12.0% 23.2% 2.1% 2.9%
MMR 18 Mar 2016 9.3% 9.2% 38.3% 4.2% 12.4% 22.9% 3.4%
Fréttablaðið 9 Mar 2016 8.4% 8.2% 38.1% 1.8% 12.8% 27.6% 3.1%
MMR 2 Mar 2016 7.8% 7.8% 37.0% 4.2% 12.8% 23.4% 7%
Gallup 2 Mar 2016 10.8% 9.7% 35.9% 3.3% 11.0% 23.7% 5.6%
Gallup 2 Feb 2016 10.8% 9.2% 35.3% 3.6% 12.0% 24.4% 4.7%
MMR 2 Feb 2016 11.0% 9.4% 35.6% 4.4% 12.2% 21.1% 5.9%
Fréttablaðið 30 Jan 2016 9.6% 9.9% 41.8% 1.6% 10.2% 23.2% 3.7%
Gallup 2 Jan 2016 10.2% 10.4% 33.1% 4.2% 12.0% 25.2% 4.9%
MMR 18 Dec 2015 11.4% 12.9% 34.9% 5.3% 11.5% 20.6% 3.4%
Gallup 4 Dec 2015 11.4% 10.1% 32.9% 3.9% 12.0% 24.8% 4.9%
MMR 16 Nov 2015 9.9% 10.5% 35.3% 4.6% 10.8% 23.7% 5.2%
Gallup 4 Nov 2015 11.1% 10.6% 35.5% 4.6% 9.6% 24.6% 4.4%
MMR 21 Oct 2015 11.8% 11.3% 34.2% 6.5% 10.4% 21.7% 4.1%
Gallup 2 Oct 2015 10.6% 10.1% 34.6% 5.6% 10.1% 24.4% 4.6%
MMR 3 Sep 2015 9.6% 10.6% 33.0% 5.8% 11.4% 25.3% 4.3%
Gallup 1 Sep 2015 11.8% 9.3% 35.9% 4.4% 11.1% 21.7% 5.8%
Gallup 7 Aug 2015 8.9% 12.2% 32.3% 5.0% 12.4% 24.0% 5.2%
MMR 4 Aug 2015 10.2% 9.6% 35.0% 4.4% 12.2% 23.1% 5.5%
MMR 30 Jun 2015 12.0% 9.3% 33.2% 5.6% 10.6% 23.8% 5.5%
Rúv 29 Jun 2015 10.3% 11.4% 32.0% 6.4% 11.3% 24.5% 4.1%
MMR 25 Jun 2015 10.5% 11.6% 32.4% 6.8% 10.0% 23.3% 5.4%
FBL 19 Jun 2015 7.3% 11.1% 37.5% 3.3% 8.5% 29.5% 2.8%
MMR 16 Jun 2015 11.1% 11.8% 34.5% 6.7% 11.3% 21.2% 3.5%
Gallup 1 Jun 2015 9.8% 12.4% 34.1% 7.4% 8.9% 23.0% 4.3%
MMR 26 May 2015 10.4% 13.1% 32.7% 6.3% 8.6% 23.1% 5.6%
MMR 4 May 2015 10.8% 10.7% 32.0% 8.3% 10.8% 21.9% 5.5%
Gallup 30 Apr 2015 10.6% 14.1% 30.1% 7.8% 10.1% 22.9% 4.4%
Gallup 30 Mar 2015 10.1% 15.8% 21.7% 10.9% 10.8% 25.0% 5.7%
Kjarninn 26 Mar 2015 10.2% 16.1% 23.6% 10.1% 11.0% 24.8% 4.2%
MMR 21 Mar 2015 9.0% 16.3% 29.1% 9.0% 11.6% 23.4% 1.7%
MMR 18 Mar 2015 10.8% 15.5% 23.9% 10.3% 11.0% 23.4% 5.1%
Fréttablaðið 11 Mar 2015 10.4% 16.1% 21.9% 9.2% 10.1% 28.0% 4.3%
Rúv 2 Mar 2015 11.2% 17.1% 15.2% 13.3% 11.0% 26.1% 6.1%
MMR 19 Feb 2015 12.9% 14.5% 12.8% 15.0% 13.1% 25.5% 6.2%
Gallup 3 Feb 2015 11.0% 18.0% 12.0% 13.0% 13.0% 27.0% 6.0%
MMR 14 Jan 2015 11.9% 15.9% 12.8% 16.9% 9.4% 27.3% 5.8%
Mbl 16 Dec 2014 11.6% 16.1% 11.4% 16.2% 11.0% 29.0% 4.7%
Fréttablaðið 17 Nov 2014 13.1% 19.2% 9.2% 12.5% 12.8% 32.9%
MMR 4 Nov 2014 10.7% 16.1% 11.3% 18.6% 12.3% 23.6% 7.4%
Gallup 3 Oct 2014 13.0% 19.0% 7.0% 16.0% 12.0% 27.0%
MMR 8 Sep 2014 10.4% 16.9% 9.2% 17.8% 11.3% 28.2% 6.2%
MMR 28 Aug 2014 9.6% 20.3% 10.3% 17.6% 9.6% 26.6% 6.0%
MMR 31 Jul 2014 11.6% 17.0% 9.6% 19.2% 11.8% 24.1% 6.7%
MMR 24 Jun 2014 11.4% 16.5% 8.3% 21.8% 11.4% 25.0% 5.6%
MMR 13 May 2014 11.6% 16.4% 9.6% 19.4% 12.3% 22.1% 8.6%
MMR 2 May 2014 11.7% 17.4% 9.0% 15.5% 14.1% 25.1% 7.2%
MMR 14 Apr 2014 11.5% 15.1% 11.0% 17.1% 14.4% 23.9% 7.0%
MMR 3 Mar 2014 10.4% 14.0% 9.3% 16.4% 14.6% 29.0% 5.6%
RÚV 27 Feb 2014 13.0% 16.8% 9.8% 15.8% 15.3% 23.7% 5.6%
Capacent 1 Feb 2014 12.7% 14.9% 8.1% 14.2% 18.3% 26.9%
MMR 22 Jan 2014 11.0% 17.1% 6.9% 15.9% 17.0% 26.3% 5.6%
Capacent 24 Dec 2013 13.3% 15.1% 10.7% 13.1% 16.4% 25.3%
MMR 30 Nov 2013 12.6% 13.8% 9.0% 15.2% 15.0% 26.8%
2013 result 28 Apr 2013 10.87% 12.85% 5.10% 8.25% 24.43% 26.70%
Institute Release date V S P A B D C Others

Results[edit]

Althing October 2016.svg

Party Votes % Seats +/–
D Independence Party 54,990 29.00 21 +2
V Left-Green Movement 30,166 15.91 10 +3
P Pirate Party 27,449 14.48 10 +7
B Progressive Party 21,791 11.49 8 –11
C Viðreisn 19,870 10.48 7 New
A Bright Future 13,578 7.16 4 –2
S Social Democratic Alliance 10,893 5.74 3 –6
F People’s Party 6,707 3.54 0 New
T Dawn 3,275 1.73 0 0
R People’s Front of Iceland 575 0.30 0 0
E Icelandic National Front 303 0.16 0 New
H Humanist Party 33 0.02 0 0
Invalid/blank votes 5,574
Total 195,204 100 63 0
Registered voters/turnout 246,515 79.19
Source: Iceland Monitor
Popular vote
D
29.00%
V
15.91%
P
14.48%
B
11.49%
C
10.48%
A
7.16%
S
5.74%
F
3.54%
T
1.73%
Others
0.48%
Parliamentary seats
D
33.33%
V
15.87%
P
15.87%
B
12.70%
C
11.11%
A
6.35%
S
4.76%

This was the lowest turnout in Iceland’s history.[15]

Government formation[edit]

Neither of the two main blocs — the outgoing coalition of Independence and Progressive parties, or the Pirates and allies (Left-Green Movement, Bright Future and Social Democrats) — secured an overall majority, leaving the new Viðreisn party as possible ‘kingmakers’.[16]

The Independence Party were expected to take the lead in forming a new government, with their party leader, Bjarni, expressing preference for a three-party coalition, although without saying which three parties. The Pirate Party, while significantly up on the last election, did less well than polls had previously suggested they might. They proposed a five-party coalition with the Left-Green Movement, the Social Democrats, Bright Future and Viðreisn, having previously ruled out working with either of the two outgoing coalition members.[4] The Pirate Party then suggested a minority coalition of Left-Green Movement, Bright Future and Viðreisn, with support but not ministerial representation from themselves and the Social Democrats, in order to simplify the process of government.[17]

The leader of Viðreisn ruled out a right-leaning three-party coalition with Independence and the Progressives.[18] Viðreisn have not ruled out supporting the Pirates bloc.

Independence Party (Iceland)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the modern Independence Party. For the historical Independence Party, see Independence Party (Iceland, historical).
Independence Party
Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn
Chairperson Bjarni Benediktsson
Vice-chairperson Ólöf Nordal
Secretary Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir
CEO Þórður Þórarinsson
Founded 25 May 1929
Merger of Conservative Party
Liberal Party
Headquarters Háaleitisbraut 1,
105 Reykjavík
Youth wing Young Independents
Ideology Liberal conservatism
Libertarianism[1]
Economic liberalism[2]
Euroscepticism
Political position Centre-right to Right-wing[3][4]
European affiliation Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe
International affiliation International Democrat Union
Colours Blue
Seats in the Althing
21 / 63

Website
www.xd.is

The Independence Party (Icelandic: Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) is a centre-rightpolitical party in Iceland.[5][6] Liberal conservative[7] and Eurosceptic,[7][8][9] it is the largest party in the Althing, with 21 seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and vice chairman is Ólöf Nordal. The secretary of the party is Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir.

It was formed in 1929 through a merger of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. This united the two parties advocating the dissolution of the Union of Denmark and Iceland, which was achieved in 1944, during the German occupation of Denmark. From 1929, the party won the largest share of the vote in every election until the 2009 election, when it fell behind the Social Democratic Alliance. Until Benediktsson took the leadership after the 2009 defeat, every Independence Party leader has also held the office of Prime Minister.

The Independence Party broadly encompasses all centre-right thought in Iceland. Economically liberal and opposed to interventionism, the party is supported most strongly by fishermen and high-earners,[10] particularly in Reykjavík.[11] It supports Icelandic membership of NATO but opposes the idea of joining the European Union (EU). It is a member of the International Democrat Union and it joined the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) in November 2011, a centre-right eurosceptic European political party.

History[edit]

The Independence Party was founded on 25 May 1929 through a merger of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. It readopted the name of the historical Independence Party, which had split between the Conservatives and Liberals in 1927.[12] From its first election, in 1931, it was the largest party in Iceland.[13]

The Independence Party won the 2007 elections, increasing their seat tally in the Althing by 3. It formed a new coalition government under Haarde with the Social Democratic Alliance, after the Progressive Party lost heavily in the elections. In the 2009 elections, the party dropped from 25–26 to 16 seats in the Althing, becoming Iceland’s second-largest party following the Social Democratic Alliance (which gained two seats, to 20.)

The Independence Party re-entered government after the general elections in 2013, gaining 19 seats in parliament and the most votes again becoming Iceland’s largest party. The Independence Party hence formed a majority government with the Progressive Party with Benediktsson becoming Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs under the premiership of Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson chairman of the Progressive Party.

Ideology[edit]

The party has been the sole major right-wing party in Iceland since its inception, and has captured a broad cross-section of centre-right voters. As a result, the party is not as far to the right as most right-wing parties in Scandinavia, serving as a ‘catch-all’ party.[14] The party, like the British Conservatives, states a claim to be primarily ‘pragmatic’, as opposed to ideological,[10][11][15] and its name is seen as an allusion to being independent of dogma.[16] For most of its period of political dominance, the party has relied upon coalition government, and has made coalitions with all major parties in parliament.[17]

The Independence Party has generally been economically liberal and advocated limited government intervention in the economy.[10] It was originally committed to laissez-faire economics, but shifted its economic policies left-wards in the 1930s, accepting the creation of a welfare state.[11]

The party has historically been less conservative on social issues than centre-right parties in Scandinavia.[11] Most significant legislative advances in LGBT rights have happened while the IP was in government.[18] The party was the only consistent advocate for the end of prohibition of beer, and provided three-quarters of voters in favour of legalisation; the ban was lifted in 1989.[19]

The party’s sceptic position on EU membership was confirmed at its national congress in March 2009.[20] Its near-permanent position as Iceland’s largest party has guaranteed Iceland’s Atlanticist stance.[21] The party is in favour of allowing Icelanders to participate in peacekeeping missions, including in Afghanistan.[22]

Political support[edit]

Coat of arms of Iceland.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Iceland
Constitution

Historically the party has been the most successful right-wing party in the Nordic countries.[14] It has a broad base of support, but is most strongly supported by Iceland’s large fishing community and by businesses.[10] On the biggest divide in Icelandic politics, between urban and rural areas, the Independence Party is firmly supported by the urban population,[10] mostly found in Reykjavík.[11]

The Independence Party has always attempted to avoid appealing to a social class.[23] As such, the party is relatively successful at attracting working class voters,[17] which partly comes from the party’s strong advocacy of independence in the 1930s.[24] However, most of its strength is in the middle class,[19][25] and the party is disproportionately supported by those on high incomes and those with university educations.[10]

The party has long been endorsed by Morgunblaðið,[19] an Icelandic newspaper of record.[26] Davíð Oddsson, the longest-serving Prime Minister, is one of two editors of the paper. The paper was also historically supported by the afternoon newspaper Vísir, now part of DV.[11]

Organisation[edit]

The party has a tradition of individualism and strong personalities, which has proven difficult for the leadership to manage. The Commonwealth Party split in 1941, while the Republican Party left in 1953, both in opposition to the leftwards shift of the party away from classical liberalism.[11] Neither splinter group managed to get seats in Althingi and vanished quickly. The Citizens’ Party split from the party in 1983, but collapsed in 1994.[15]

Its youth wing, Young Independents, is by far the largest youth organisation in Iceland, with over 12,000 members. It is slightly more classically liberal than the senior party.[27]

The party has a very large membership base, with 15% of the total population being a member of the party.[28]

International relations[edit]

For years the Independence party was a member of the EPP that include members like Høyre (Norway), Moderate Party(Sweden), UPM (France), the Kokoomus (Finland), and CDU (Germany). But with a new more eurosceptic leadership of the party it joined the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) in November 2011, a centre-right eurosceptic political organization. Members of the AECR, includes among others, the British Conservative Party, Polish Law and Justice, and the Czech Civic Democratic Party.

Election results[edit]

Election Votes  % Seats +/– Position Government
1931 16,891 43.8
15 / 42

Increase 9 Increase 2nd Opposition
1933 17,131 48.0
20 / 42

Increase 5 Increase 1st Coalition
1934 21,974 42.3
20 / 49

Increase 0 Steady 1st Opposition
1937 24,132 41.3
17 / 49

Decrease 3 Decrease 2nd Opposition
1942 (Jul) 22,975 39.5
17 / 49

Steady 0 Steady 2nd Minority
1942 (Oct) 23,001 38.5
20 / 52

Increase 3 Increase 1st Opposition
1946 26,428 39.5
20 / 52

Steady 0 Steady 1st Coalition
1949 28,546 39.5
19 / 52

Decrease 1 Steady 1st Minority
1953 28,738 37.1
21 / 52

Increase 2 Steady 1st Coalition
1956 35,027 42.4
19 / 52

Decrease 2 Steady 1st Opposition
1959 (Jun) 36,029 42.5
20 / 52

Increase 1 Steady 1st Opposition
1959 (Oct) 33,800 39.7
24 / 60

Increase 4 Steady 1st Coalition
1963 37,021 41.4
24 / 60

Steady 0 Steady 1st Coalition
1967 36,036 37.5
23 / 60

Decrease 1 Steady 1st Coalition
1971 38,170 36.2
22 / 60

Decrease 1 Steady 1st Opposition
1974 48,764 42.7
25 / 60

Increase 3 Steady 1st Coalition
1978 39,982 32.7
20 / 60

Decrease 5 Steady 1st Opposition
1979 43,838 35.4
21 / 60

Increase 1 Steady 1st Opposition
1983 50,251 38.6
23 / 60

Increase 2 Steady 1st Coalition
1987 41,490 27.2
18 / 63

Decrease 5 Steady 1st Coalition
1991 60,836 38.6
26 / 63

Increase 8 Steady 1st Coalition
1995 61,183 37.1
25 / 63

Decrease 1 Steady 1st Coalition
1999 67,513 40.7
26 / 63

Increase 1 Steady 1st Coalition
2003 61,701 33.6
22 / 63

Decrease 4 Steady 1st Coalition
2007 66,754 36.6
25 / 63

Increase 3 Steady 1st Coalition
2009 44,371 23.7
16 / 63

Decrease 9 Decrease 2nd Opposition
2013 50,454 26.7
19 / 63

Increase 3 Increase 1st Coalition
2016 54,990 29.0
21 / 63

Increase 2 Steady 1st TBD

Leaders[edit]

Olafur Thors was party leader from 1934 to 1961, making him the longest-serving leader in the party’s history.

All former chairmen of the party have held the office of the Prime Minister of Iceland: Ólafur Thors, Bjarni Benediktsson, Jóhann Hafstein, Geir Hallgrímsson, Þorsteinn Pálsson, Davíð Oddsson and Geir H. Haarde. Jón Þorláksson, the first chairman of the Independence party was Prime Minister for the Conservative party prior to the foundation of the Independence party. Gunnar Thoroddsen, who was the party’s vice chairman 1974–1981, was Iceland’s PM from 1980 to 1983, but the Independence Party did not officially support his government, although some MPs in the party did.

Leader From To
1st Jón Þorláksson 29 May 1929 2 October 1934
2nd Ólafur Thors 2 October 1934 22 October 1961
3rd Bjarni Benediktsson 22 October 1961 10 July 1970
4th Jóhann Hafstein 10 July 1970 12 October 1973
5th Geir Hallgrímsson 12 October 1973 6 November 1983
6th Þorsteinn Pálsson 6 November 1983 10 March 1991
7th Davíð Oddsson 10 March 1991 16 October 2005
8th Geir Haarde 16 October 2005 29 March 2009
9th Bjarni Benediktsson 29 March 2009 Present

Footnotes[edit]