Reykjavík Grapevine - 08.02.2008, Síða 35

Feature | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 02 2008 | 15
deal. The situation created a backlash that left the
coalition in shatters.

Second Coalition
Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profes-
sion. I have come to realize that it bears a very
close resemblance to the first. – Ronald Reagan
Following the events of the REI merger, it soon
became obvious that the Independence/Progres-
sive Party coalition was non-functional. Rumours
circulated that six council members from the Inde-
pendence Party had reached out to other parties
for cooperation without their leader, Vilhjálmur Vil-
hjálmsson.
Not willing to take his chances of being left
out of the loop if the Independence Party decided
to move on without him, Björn Ingi Hrafnsson was
meanwhile engaged in talks of his own. Behind the
scenes, Ólafur F. Magnússon had initiated discussion
between the opposition parties and the Progressive
party to form a new coalition, his payback for being
duped in 2006.
On October 15, the press was summoned to a
conference outside City Hall where the new coali-
tion was introduced with members of the Social
Democratic Alliance, The Left-Green Party, the Pro-
gressive Party and the former representative of the
Liberal Party, with Dagur B. Eggertsson, leader of
the Social Democrats as Mayor.
Hrafnsson’s move infuriated members of the
Independence Party who felt betrayed by his ac-
tions. Questions regarding his role in the REI merger
were quickly silenced when he appeared on televi-
sion talk shows and declared that he had indeed
made a mistake and was deeply sorry for how the
REI merger was handled. But Hrafnsson was not the
only member of the coalition in a curious position.
Soon after the 2006 elections, the Liberal Party
split over immigration issues in Iceland. Ólafur F.
Magnússson, the party leader in Reykjavík, and Mar-
grét F. Sverrisdóttir, the second person on the ticket
and a Vice City Council member, both left the party.
Icelandic voting laws stipulate that political office is
tied to the person voted in, not the party receiving
the votes, so they were both still in office, without a
party to represent.
Ólafur F. Magnússon, who was now credited
as the Godfather of the new coalition for bringing
everybody to the table, had at that time been on
a leave of absence for nearly a year due to health
reasons and his Vice-City Council member, Margrét
Sverrisdóttir, had taken his place.
The new coalition, however, was well received
by citizens, registering nearly 57% approval rate
among Reykjavíkians, with most of the individual
parties climbing in approval rates as well. But Adam
was only a guest in Paradise.
102 Days
I do not believe in the collective wisdom of indi-
vidual ignorance. – Thomas Carlyle
In December 2007, Ólafur F. Magnússon returned
from his leave of absence and resumed his position
as a member of the Reykjavík City Council. By then,
old plans had been set in motion to tear down two
old houses on Laugavegur 4-6, to make room for a
new building, as early as the beginning of January
2008. Magnússon had made his opposition to those
plans very clear, and the preservation of 19th-century
houses on Laugavegur had been one of his central
campaigning issues, along with the Reykjavík Air-
port.
As the debate over Laugavegur 4-6 became
heated, Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson made a last min-
ute attempt to settle the issue peacefully. He reached
an agreement with the contractors who owned the
houses that would give the city two weeks to remove
the houses from the lot, and put them up elsewhere.
At the same time, chairman of the House Preserva-
tion Committee said the committee would likely rec-
ommend to the Minister for Education that an emer-
gency preservation order be issued for the houses.
Not satisfied, Ólafur F. Magnússon decided to
cast his lot elsewhere. 102 days after he orchestrated
a new majority coalition in Reykjavík, Magnússon
pulled the plug.
Third Coalition
“I will make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
– Don Corleone
Still seething from losing the mayoral chair, Vilhjál-
mur Vilhjálmsson was quietly waiting in the wings
for an opportunity to resume power. At the first sign
of trouble between Magnússon and Mayor Dagur B.
Eggertsson, Vilhjálmsson stepped in and reopened
the talks that he had suspended in 2006.
The revived negotiations proved to be fruitful.
On January 24, Ólafur F. Magnússon was announced
as the new Mayor of Reykjavík. The Independence
Party no longer considered the location of the Reyk-
javík Airport to be a deal breaker and accepted Mag-
nússon’s demands on the issue. The coalition agree-
ment also stated that the city would buy the houses
on Laugavegur 4-6 from the developers, who went
on to clear over 250 million ISK from the deal.
Ólafur F. Magnússon proudly claimed that
the coalition agreement was 70% based on his is-
sues. The Independence Party’s reversal regarding
Laugavegur 4-6 was no less noteworthy than their
reversal on the airport. September 4, 2007, when the
Independence Party was still a member of the first
coalition, the minority proposed that the city would
buy the houses, but the proposal was turned down
with eight votes from the coalition majority.
For the ordinary citizen, this certainly looked
as if the Independence Party had sold out its own
campaign issues in exchange for power. During Mag-
nússon’s inaugural meeting in City Council as Mayor
on January 24, an estimated 200-400 Reykjavíkians
showed up at City Hall to protest. Eventually, the
meeting had to be postponed until demonstrators
left. Polls showed that the approval rate for the new
majority was at a paltry 26%, with 57% claiming that
they would rather see Dagur B. Eggertsson as Mayor.
A week later, the Mayor’s approval rating was mea-
sured to be at 16%.
The Fallout
“When a man assumes a public trust he should
consider himself a public property.”
– Thomas Jefferson
The same day Magnússon took over the office of
Mayor, Björn Ingi Hrafnsson of the Progressive
Party announced his retirement from politics after
a mini-scandal broke out in the press over his free-
spending campaign that saw Hrafnsson buy clothes
for himself and aides for nearly 1 million ISK from
the party’s war chest.
Mayor Magnússon had his own problems with
the press. After refusing to answer questions about
his year-long leave of absence, he was finally forced
to admit that his health problems were mental, al-
though he did not wish to elaborate. His lack of
forthcoming did little to change the public’s trust in
him.
Meanwhile, quiet voices of dissent seeped out
of the Independence Party core. Apparently, talks
with Magnússon had been initiated by two men –
Vilhjálmsson and his ally, City Council member Kjar-
tan Magnússon – and settled in one hour. The rest of
the party did not necessarily share their enthusiasm,
particularly over the airport.
Magnússon, once more, had his own set of
problems. He had entered and finished the nego-
tiations without consulting Margrét Sverrisdóttir, his
Vice-City Council member, who had no intention of
going along with Magnússon’s plan. She remained
steadfastly loyal to the previous coalition; leaving
Magnússon in a position where he can no longer
call in his deputy, say for a leave of absence, since
the coalition is, in fact, no longer in majority.
What Have we Learned?
A political convention is just not a place where you
come away with any trace of faith in human na-
ture. – Murray Kempton
After three coalition majorities in Reykjavík in the
last 20 months, one thing has become painfully ob-
vious: Politics is not about issues; it is about power.
The general public feels betrayed by politicians who
don’t hesitate to go back on their word for a little
more suction. Maybe the 23% who stayed home on
Election Day had it right. There is no point in voting.
It only encourages them.
Text by Sveinn Birkir Björnsson
Dagur B Eggertsson
10.16. 2007 - 01.24. 2008
Ólafur F Magnússon
01.24. 2008 -