Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.06.2006, Qupperneq 8

Sveinn Birkir Björnsson gives us Grapevine’s Government Guide
Grapevine’s City Council Guide
Who They Are and How They Vote
The Leftist-Green Party (Vinstrihreyfingin-
Grænt Framboð)
Guiding principles: Far-left, pro-environmental, anti-NATO, feminist.
Party Chairperson: Steingrímur J. Sigfússon
Number of seats: 5
Registered members: about 2,000
Ministers: none
Strange but true: The Leftist-Green Party were least active in advertising
among all parties in the recent elections. Yet, the party increased its support
the most on a national level.
Website: www.vg.is
E-mail: vg@vg.is
Phone: 552-8872
Address: Pósthólf 175, 121 Reykjavík
The Social Democratic Party
(Samfylkingin)
Guiding principles: Left-centrist, social-democratic.
Party Chairperson: Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir
Number of seats: 20
Registered members: about 20,000
Ministers: none
Strange but true: The Social Democratic Party bought the most
advertisement space in the recent mayoral elections according to the Icelandic
media analysing company The Media Watch. They maintained their four
representatives on City Council.
Website: www.samfylking.is
E-mail: samfylking@samfylking.is
Phone: 4142200
Address: Hallveigarstíg 1 (2nd Floor), Box 160, 101
Reykjavík
The Progressive Party
(Framsóknarflokkurinn)
Guiding principles: Right-centrist; believes in fewer economic and
environmental regulations while strengthening the social system.
Party Chairperson: Halldór Ásgrímsson
Number of seats: 12
Registered members: about 10,000
Ministers: Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson, Minister of Social Affairs
Árni Magnússon, Minister of Agriculture Guðni Ágústsson, Minister of
Health Jón Kristjánsson, Minister of Industry Valgerður Sverrisdóttir
Strange but true: For a party that is a member of a government coalition and
holds the Prime Minister’s chair, the recent mayoral elections in Reykjavík
spell trouble with the party receiving only 6.3% support.
Website: www.framsokn.is
E-mail: framsokn@framsokn.is
Phone: 540-4300
Address: Hverfisgata 33 (2nd Floor), 101 Reykjavík
The Liberal Party (Frjálslyndir)
Guiding principles: Right-centrist, emphasising on
the rights of fishermen and increasing government
transparency.
Party Chairperson: Guðjón Kristjánsson
Number of seats: 3
Registered members: about 2,000
Ministers: none
Strange but true: The Liberal Party increased their support considerably in
the recent mayoral elections, a good indicator for the upcoming parliamentary
elections next spring.
Website: www.frjalslyndir.is
E-mail: xf@xf.is
Phone: 552-2600
Address: Aðalstræti 9, 101 Reykjavík
The Independence Party
(Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn)
Guiding principles: Right wing, believes in further
privatization in all areas of society.
Party Chairperson: Geir H. Haarde
Number of seats: 23
Registered members: about 34,000
Ministers: Minister of Fisheries Einar K. Guðfinnson, Minister of Justice
Björn Bjarnason, Minister of Foreign Affairs Geir H. Haarde, Minister
of the Economy Árni M. Mathiesen, President of Parliament Solveig
Pétursdóttir, Minister of the Environment Sigríður A. Þórðardóttir, Minister
of Communications Sturla Böðvarsson, Minister of Education Þórgerður
Katrín Gunnarsdóttir
Strange but true: Renowned Independence Party opposition, author
Hallgrímur Helgason, recently admitted that he voted for the party in the
2002 mayoral elections.
Website: www.xd.is
E-mail: xd@xd.is
Phone: 515-1700
Address: Háaleitisbraut 1, 105 Reykjavík
Parliament recently re-convened and will be meeting through the sum-
mer. What will main issues for this summer session?
And this issue’s question is . . .
broadcasting company (RÚV)
and the Innovation Centre issues
obviously. I think it is going to be
very difficult to push these issues
through parliament. Then we will
probably be discussing the situation
with the defence agreement.”
MP Magnús Þór Hafsteinsson
Independence Party: “Well,
right now it is state-owned
broadcasting company (RÚV) that
is in focus. I can not really say at this
time that it will be the main issue for
the whole summer, but, right now
it definitely is. The opposition is
going to discuss that for a long time.
There are also other bill proposals
to turn state-owned institutions
into corporations, so guess that is
the overall theme for the summer
session.” MP Kjartan Ólafsson
and the Innovation Centre. These
issues will take a long time to
resolve. The Innovation Centre
has been disputed by everyone who
has reviewed it. We would like
to focus on discussing economic
issues and other issues, but those
matters are not even being put on
the agenda by the government. Most
of our issues never make it out of
committee.” MP Katrín Júlíusdóttir.
Progressive Party: “The biggest
dispute will be over the state-
owned broadcasting company
(RÚV) and the Innovation
Centre, I believe. I think we will
spend a lot of time discussing
those issues in the parliament.”
MP Kristinn H. Gunnarsson
Liberal Party: “Well, it is
going to be the state-owned
Leftist-Green Party: “It looks
as though there will be mostly two
issues in focus this summer, the
proposal to turn the state-owned
broadcasting company (RÚV) into
a corporation, and the plans to
merge several institutions, funds
and scientific research centres to
create one Innovation Centre.
Both of these issues are extremely
controversial, even within the
government coalition. I’m just going
to wish them luck with trying to
get these two issues through the
opposition during the summer. That
is going to be extremely difficult,”
MP Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir.
Social Democratic Party: “The
most obvious issues are going to be
the dispute over the state-owned
broadcasting company (RÚV)
Grapevine’s Government Guide Bonus:
Witness Democracy in Action!
It’s possible to watch parliamentary
sessions live, and you don’t need
cable – or even a television,
for that matter.
The government television
station RÚV, attainable by even
the poorest TV aerials, regularly
broadcasts live from the halls of
parliament. Check RÚV’s listings
in any of the country’s newspapers,
look for “Alþingi” and tune in.
If you prefer, you can also
watch the action in person – from
a gallery within the halls of
parliament themselves. Simply go
to the parliament’s web page, www.
althingi.is, to see the dates and
times of the next parliamentary
session. Then make your way to
the parliament building, which
faces Austurvellir, and use the
entrance opposite the church
Dómkirkjan. Admission is free,
although you might be asked to
check large bags with security
and remove your hat. From there,
you can go up to the gallery and
witness democracy in action.
Popcorn currently unavailable.
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