Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

Iceland's Pirate Party wins 10 seats, will need unlikely coalition to rule

'Regeneration' splinter party will likely be the captain-maker

Iceland's Pirate Party has won ten seats in the nation's 63-seat parliament, the Alþingi.

Píratar, to use the party's Icelandic name, secured 14.5 per cent of the vote, below the 22.6 per cent reported in polls last week but at the upper range of party officials' expectations. Píratar had three seats in the last Alþingi, so is justifiably claiming it has taken major strides.

No party won the election outright. The Independence Party has dominated Icelandic politics for decades and won 21 seats, two more than it did last time, but its current coalition partner the Progressive Party's vote collapsed and it will have just eight seats. Former Progressive Party prime minister Sigmundur Davið Gunnlaugsson resigned after being named in The Panama Papers, which precipitated the election and led to the party being rather on the nose.

Other parties to do well at the election share some of Píratar's values, such as the Left-Green Movement (10 seats), Bright Future (four) and the Social Democratic Alliance (three). But even if all of those parties could form a coalition with Píratar, they'd be five seats short of a majority.

Enter “Regeneration”, a new party that recently splintered the Independence Party and took seven seats but has previously ruled out going into coalition with either the Independence or Progressive parties.

Regeneration also shares some Pirate values: it's pro-Europe, wants the nation to accept more refugees and favours a strong welfare and public health system. Whether it will enter into a coalition with parties to its left, and accept Pirate policies like a right to privacy, a right to anonymity and call for government data to be open remains to be seen. ®

 

Similar topics

Similar topics

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like