Auður Lilja Erlingsdóttir, Iceland

From the middle of the 19th century, the question of Iceland’s independence from Denmark dominated the Icelandic political scene. With sovereignty in 1918 and full independence in 1944, the Icelandic society began to change. Iceland moved from being an agricultural society to a more industrialized one, causing swift changes in settlement, life style and living conditions. The Icelandic party system was not immune to these changes in the social structure.

The Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) and the Social Democratic party (Alþýðuflokkur) were founded in 1916. The Progressive Party has since then often been associated with the interests of farmers and the Icelandic rural areas while the Social Democrats, closely linked to the workers union at that time, mostly represented the interests of workers. Today’s right wing, The Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn), emerged in 1929 with the merging of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party and in 1930 the Communist Party was founded by a Social Democrat splinter group. In 1938, as the left arm of the Social Democrats took off and joined the Communist Party, the name was changed to the Socialist Party. In 1956 the People‘s Alliance (Alþýðubandalagið) was founded as yet another fraction from the Social Democrats joined the Socialist party.[1]

Although other parties have emerged and even been represented in the Icelandic Parliament, they have not managed to gain a firm footing in the political landscape. Broadly speaking, these are the four parties that have been visible in Icelandic politics for the last decades, with a few exceptions. One of the exceptions which must be mentioned, however, is the Women’s Alliance (Kvennalistinn), founded in 1983 and based on the women’s candidacy from the year before. The Women’s Alliance did not position itself on a left-to-right scale. It was a feminist movement and as such had a great influence in Icelandic politics, especially as regards women’s representation in Parliament. Before the Women’s Alliance there were at most three women in Parliament at a time.

Table 1: Results of parties in number of MPs in general elections to the Icelandic Parliament, Alþingi, 1963-1995[2]

	1963	1967	1971	1974	1978	1979	1983	1987	1991	1995
Social Democratic Party	8	9	6	5	14	10	6	10	10	7
Progressive Party	19	18	17	17	12	17	14	13	13	15
Independence Party	24	23	22	25	20	21	23	18	26	25
People’s Alliance	9	10	10	11	14	11	10	8	9	9
Union of Liberals and Leftists	.	.	5	2	.	.	.	.	.	.
The Alliance of Social Democrats	.	.	.	.	.	.	4	0	.	.
Women’s Alliance	.	.	.	.	.	.	3	6	5	3
Citizens’ Party	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	7	.	.
Association for Equality and Social Justice	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.
Þjóðvaki, People’s Movement	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	4
Others and outside parties	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0

The Icelandic party system can therefore be roughly described as a four party system with a big right wing party, a center party, a social democratic party and a left-wing party. The left-wing has been quite unstable with some new splinter parties emerging, mostly from the Social Democrats. The new parties on the left side have generally not lasted long, e.g. Þjóðvaki – the Peoples movement, Union of Liberals and Leftists, and the Alliance of Social Democrats. The right wing has been much more stable than the left wing in Icelandic politics. Here is a small social democratic party and a left party which has often been approximately as popular as the Social democrats. In this respect, Iceland differs from the Scandinavian countries, where normally there is a large Social democratic party but a small left party. The left parties underwent a restructuring at the end of the 1990s, and the 1999 election saw some changes, leaving Iceland now more similar to the Scandinavian party model.

But what do we mean by right or left in the Icelandic party system? In Harðarson’s (1995) research on parties and voters in Iceland, the issues concerning security and foreign policy are the ones that fit most easily into the left-right spectrum in Iceland. The attitude towards the U.S. military base in Keflavik was more strongly related to a left – right position than any other single issue. The people who positioned themselves to the left were much more likely to be opposed to the base while the people who positioned themselves to the right were more likely to support it. The same goes for attitudes towards NATO membership. The second issue that divides Icelandic voters on left – right spectrum are economic issues, the attitude towards taxes and the expense of public services.[3] Other important matters are gender equality, attempts to assure women’s equal position to men, and giving the environment priority over economic growth. The left is more supporting of these values than the right and those issues have played an increasingly bigger role in Icelandic politics in the last decade than previously.

1999 – The year of change in the Icelandic party system?

In the years 1998-1999 discussions about the unification of the left-wing parties in Icelandic politics became more prominent than before. The fact that the left side was often unstable and divided gave the Independence Party the opportunity to form a government after most elections due to its size. The unification would, according to its proponents, be the only way to challenge the right wing and gain real power and influences. It would be the only way to gain balance.

A group of politicians began to prepare for the unification of four existing parties on the left side, The Social Democrats, The People’s Alliance, Þjóðvaki – Peoples Movement and The Women’s Alliance into one social democratic party. The Social Democrats and the People’s Alliance had held seats in Parliament for decades. Þjóðvaki, Peoples Movement was a fraction that had broken away from the Social Democrats originally founded to unify the left for the 1995 elections. It got four MPs elected that year. The Women’s Alliance had been represented in Parliament since 1983 onwards. At most it got six MPs elected in 1987 but had been losing support since then. In the 1995 elections it got three MPs elected.

On the other side there were those who did not want unification on as large a scale as mentioned above and were concerned about which values would be emphasized after such unification. The people in this group were to be found in the above mentioned parties, but perhaps especially in the People’s Alliance and the Women’s alliance. The media discussions of the time provide a fine example of the issues that divided the left in Iceland and had done so for years, that is to say issues of the market economy and security.

The former group ran for Parliament in 1999 under the name The Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin). A year later, on May 5th 2000, a formal political party under the same name was formed. Those who didn’t want unification founded The Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin – Grænt framboð) on February 6th 1999 after a few months’ work, with the intention of unifying socialist and environmental groups before the Parliamentary elections set for May 8th that year. The nascent Left-Green Movement joined forces with four MPs from The People’s Alliance and The Women’s Alliance who shared similar views and had for some months formed an independent group and worked together within the Parliament. The movement ran for Parliament as an alternative to the left of The Social Democratic Alliance.

The year 1999 was therefore a special year in Icelandic politics. Four parties joined and ran together but also two new parties, The Left-Green Movement and the Liberals ran and got MPs elected. Two more parties actually ran for office, the Humanists and the Christian Democratic Party but neither received sufficient support to get MPs elected. Table 2 shows the results of the 1999-2009 general elections in number of MPs for parties.

Table 2: Results of parties in number of MP in general elections to Alþingi, 1999-2009[4]

	1999	2003	2007	2009
The Progressive Party	12	12	7	9
The Independence Party	26	22	25	16
The Liberal Party	2	4	4	0
The Social Democratic Alliance	17	20	18	20
The Left-Green Movement	6	5	9	14
The Citizens movement				4

The landscape of Icelandic politics is often considered to have changed as a result of the unification of the four left wing parties and the foundation of the Left-Green Movement. Yet, looking at the results of the 1999 elections, these changes do not seem so drastic. The Left-Green Movement got six MPs elected or 9,1% of the popular vote. The new Social Democratic Alliance got 17 MPs elected and 26,8% of the vote. The four left wing parties had been represented by 23 MPs, earning 37,8% of the vote in the 1995 elections. The two new parties gained less from the elections than the four parties in the elections before. One could therefore say that the hopes of unifying left into one big party and gaining from it had been shattered.

The Left-Green Movement has been growing bigger and stronger since its inception. It has gained more MPs in every election since 1999, except in 2003 when it lost one. Today the party has 5833[5] members, 47% of which are women and 53% men. The average age of the members is 42,5 years but 27% of them are 30 years old or younger. 49% of the members live in the Reykjavík area.

The Left-Green Movement bases its fundamental policies today on five cornerstones. They are as follows[6]:

Conservation of the environment: All natural resources shall be public property and utilized sustainably and carefully. So-called green economics must be used to estimate the value of untouched nature and green taxes shall be applied to encourage environmental protection. It is very important that Icelanders can produce all the energy they need in the future. The party rejects further building of power plants for the sake of polluting large scale industry and demands that the highland be conserved. Emphasis is placed upon dynamic, international co-operation and conventions concerning environmental matters.

Equality and social justice: All individuals shall have equal rights and no discrimination should be tolerated. The party demands full equality concerning education, all social service, public information and freedom of speech. It is the duty of the Icelandic state to guarantee the welfare of every citizen, especially the elderly and the disabled. The Left-Green Movement supports the strengthening of the rural areas of Iceland by means of quality social services, education and culture. It finds very important that wages paid for 40 hours’ work a week be sufficient for a normal cost of living.

Fair and prosperous economy: The Left-Green Movement wants to strengthen the position of wage earners to influence the development of our society. The party promotes the development of a more diverse economy in Iceland and encourages the use of environment-friendly technology. It opposes all monopolies and the centralization of capital and supports the conventional industries to make use of Iceland’s special status to create diverse jobs for all of the country’s inhabitants.

Independent foreign policy: The Left-Green Movement fights for an independent foreign policy that maintains the sovereignty of Iceland and supports all means of establishing global peace. The party opposes participation in military alliances such as NATO and WEU. It also rejects participation in the European Union and emphasizes simple, bilateral treaties concerning trade and co-operation. The Left-Green Movement is willing to strengthen the co-operation of all nations based on mutual respect for different opinions and different cultures. The party supports and wishes to strengthen the country’s participation in democratic organizations such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council. Iceland shall support the goals of the UN and the Declaration of Human Rights by making a contribution to the abolition of poverty and hunger, social injustice, unequal division of wealth, racial discrimination, violation of human rights and militarism.

Feminism: The Left – Green movement is a feminist party. As the party fights against the power of finance owners and capitalism it also rejects men’s oppression of women and the patriarchal society that prevents women from enjoying full human rights.

2009 – Elections after crisis

On the 6th of October 2008 Geir H. Haarde, then prime minister of Iceland, addressed the Icelandic nation on national television. The subject matter was the major financial difficulties that the nation faced at that moment. In his speech Haarde said that it was a real danger that the Icelandic economy, in the worst case, could be sucked with the banks into the whirlpool, resulting in national bankruptcy.

Each following day was a new shock for Icelanders. The financial situation was much worse than most had realized and the government, the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance struggled to save the Icelandic banking system. They did not succeed. All three of the country‘s major banks collapsed and were taken over by the state.

From the 11th of October people gathered in front of the Icelandic Parliament every Saturday and held meetings, rallies and demonstrations, demanding that the people who had caused the situation would resign from office. This was the beginning of what is now referred to as the kitchenware revolution because of the noise the protesters made by banging households’ goods. Most criticism was pointed towards the Independence Party which had been in government for 18 years straight, thereof 12 years with the Progressive Party, then for 2 years with the Social Democratic Alliance.

On the 20th of January 2009, the protests intensified. People protesting in front of the Parliament clashed with riot police armed with pepper spray and batons. The protests continued the next day as government buildings were surrounded by protesters making noise and throwing eggs or other food. On the 22nd of January the police used tear gas, for the first time since the protests against Iceland joining NATO in 1949, to disperse the crowd. On the 23rd of January, an announcement was made of early Parliamentary elections but this did not stop the protest. Protesters continued to fill the street calling for immediate elections. On the 26th of January, the government coalition of the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance yielded and came apart.

The Left-Green Movement and the Social Democratic Alliance formed a new government on the 1st of February 2009. The coalition government was not backed by a majority in Parliament but The Progressive Party agreed to defend the Government in the event of motions of non-confidence. The cabinet consisted of four Left Green ministers and four Social Democratic Alliance ministers with two non-political ministers appointed as well. The aim of the new government was to carry out urgent and important measures for the benefit of Icelandic homes and business life, to reconstruct the banking system and improve Icelandic governance and administration in favor of increased democracy and transparency. The government aimed to prioritize social values, the principles of sustainable development, women’s rights, equality and justice. It was also clear from the beginning that elections would be held as soon as circumstances allowed, and a new government could be formed on the basis of a renewed mandate from the nation.[7]

The government was in many ways successful. In particular it had some success in sharing information with the Icelandic public by weekly meetings with Icelandic media. It reorganized the Central bank of Iceland, put a temporary restriction on auctions due to foreclosures, introduced a way for people of low income to gain access to their retirement funds, increased tax credit for interest payment, adopted a new action plan to fight human trafficking, introduced an ethics code for the Icelandic administration and more. But as sure as the new government emerged under extremely difficult circumstances in Icelandic society, it is sure that many people thought the new government hadn’t done enough.

The elections campaign was difficult. The Left-Green Movement pointed out that every year since 2006 the party had warned that the neo-liberal policy of former governments threatened economic stability. Often the party spokesmen had talked without being listened to. In the past, the party had been considered old-fashioned and its members accused of lacking understanding of the new era and the glory that Icelandic financial Vikings would bring to the country. This time the party had success. On the 25th of April elections were held in Iceland. Six parties ran for Parliament, The Left-Green Movement, The Social Democratic Alliance, The Independence Party, the Progressive Party, The Liberals and a new party, The Citizens Movement. It’s hard to define the politics of the Citizens Movement. Leftist tendencies can be detected in their policies, such as the call for open and citizens-based democracy, open and reformed government administration and some emphasis on citizen rights. However, there are also hints of a right wing emphasis in its policies, such as privatization of social structures.

In the elections the Left-Green movement got 21% of the popular vote and 14 representatives in the Parliament. In the aftermath the party formed a new government with The Social Democratic Alliance, this time with a majority of MPs behind it. This is the first time in Icelandic history that a two party left-wing coalition forms the government. In the new cabinet, the number of ministers was increased back to the traditional 12, with each party holding 5 ministries and 2 non-political ministers serving as well. The Left-Green Movement holds the ministries of Finance, Education, Health, Environment and Agriculture and Fisheries.

The new government has served for less than a year at the time of this writing. While it has worked with great effort to reclaim stability in Icelandic society it is hard to make right for decades of neo-liberalism, especially under the dire circumstances Iceland now finds itself in. It has also been quite hard for the Left – Green Movement to evolve from a small opposition party to a large party in power.

From opposition to power

From the beginning of the coalition some dissatisfaction has been apparent among the MPs of the Left-Green Movement about the direction of the new government. It has been obvious that for the party‘s members, some compromises have been harder to swallow than others. While the cooperation has worked relatively well in many areas, considering the circumstances, three issues in particular have proven to be difficult for the Left-Green Movement. These issues most likely would not have caused any dispute, were the party still in opposition. Majority politics can be hard as they often require compromises. These can be especially hard for a radical left party.

The first major dispute between the coalition parties was actually about the coalition platform itself. That quarrel was about whether it was acceptable for the Left – Green Movement to be in a coalition that was going to apply for membership to the European Union, even though the final decision would be in the hands of the Icelandic nation. After much discussion it was decided that the Foreign Minister, who is in the Social Democratic Alliance, would present a Parliamentary resolution to the spring session of the Icelandic Parliament proposing an application for EU membership. While discussing the matters in Parliamanet the two parties agreed to respect the differing emphasis of each party concerning EU membership and their right to express their opinions.[8] Members of the Left – Green Movement agreed upon that. However, the debate came alive again when the matter was addressed in Parliament, where it became clear that if all the MPs of the Left – Green Movement were to vote against the resolution it wouldn’t go through. The Social Democratic Alliance wasn‘t satisfied and the coalition became unstable. Some members of the Left – Green Movement felt betrayed when some of the party‘s MPs, among them the party chairman, voted for the resolution. The MPs however claimed to be compromising to prolong the life of the government, insisting that in the long run this vote didn‘t matter because the nation would decide upon the matter. Some claimed to be pro-democracy though they were against EU and this way they were giving Icelandic citizens the power to decide.

Another issue that has created some stir within the Left – Green Movement is the presence of the International Monetary Found (IMF) in the country. From the beginning of the financial crisis the party had been very critical of IMF and its policies, claiming that it was capitalistic and not suitable for creating social justice in Iceland. However, the IMF’s program in Iceland had already been implemented when the party gained power and the party chairman, now Minister of Finance, suddenly found himself in the position of having to work with IMF and speak for that cooperation.

The biggest issue has without doubt been the Icesave agreement.[9] Prior to entering government, the Left – Green Movement spoke against the agreement made by the government of the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance. The agreement was considered too much of a burden for Icelandic tax payers and, most importantly, it was held to be unfair to burden Icelandic citizens with the debt of a few Icelandic investors. After the election, a new Icesave agreement was made. The government took a stand with the new agreement and claimed it to be the only way to gain trust in the international arena again. Furthermore, without settling this dispute, the Icelandic economy would not stabilize, ratings agencies would rank Iceland below investment grade and this would greatly increase the interest rate at which the country would be able to borrow funds internationally. Finally, the IMF would probably refuse to release any further funds to Iceland without this dispute being solved. Without funds from the IMF it would be impossible to rebuild Icelandic society and financial markets. It once again became the fate of the party chairman, the Minister of Finance, to present this case to the public. The party’s MPs were not unified in their position and for a while it was unclear whether the government would pass the bill because of resistance from MPs from the Left – Green Movement. The bill was finally passed, but the matter is still unsolved because the Icelandic nation vetoed the bill in a national referendum.

These three issues have been hard for the government, especially for the Left-Green Movement. Although some people may see that as a disadvantage, others have welcomed the heated discussion on Parliament and interpreted it as a sign of a new type of governance, governance where MPs don’t blindly follow the political elite and their decisions. Whichever way people interpret the situation, the fact is that the government has survived this turbulence. It will be exciting to see how the Icelandic party system will evolve in the future. After all it took nothing less than a major financial crisis to remove the right-wing from power.

Auður Lilja Erlingsdóttir is Executive Secretary of the Party the Left-Green Movement (Iceland)

Brochure in which the Article was published »

---

[1] This history is well described in Harðarson, Ólafur Th. (1995). Parties and Voters in Iceland. Social Science Research Institute, Reykjavik, esp. p. 27-28.

[2] Source: Statistics Iceland, http://www.statice.is/Statistics/Elections

[3] See Harðarson, Ólafur Th. (1995). Parties and Voters in Iceland. Social Science Research Institute, Reykjavik, p. 219-220 and chapter V.

[4] Source: Statistics Iceland, http://www.statice.is/Statistics/Elections

[5] On January the 28th 2010

[6] The policy decleration of the Left-Green Movement on its homepage http://www.vg.is/stefna/stefnuyfirlysing/

[7] The Policy Declaration of the Government of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement http://eng.forsaetisraduneyti.is/media/frettir/Policy_declaration.pdf

[8] Government Coalition Platform of the Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement http://eng.forsaetisraduneyti.is/news-and-articles/nr/3730

[9] A bill settling Iceland’s dispute with the United Kingdom and Holland regarding the government’s responsibility for losses suffered by British and Dutch depositors when one of Iceland’s three major banks–Landsbanki–went into receivership in October 2008.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 6:34 pm and is filed under Crisis, European Left, Left Parties. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.