Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.06.2016, Blaðsíða 22

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Meet All The Candidates (Except One)!
By Paul Fontaine
We at the Grapevine believe strongly in the idea of the well-in-
formed voter. To that end, we asked every candidate running for
President of Iceland the same eight questions (with one excep-
tion), and every one of them responded, again with one exception.
The one difference in our eight questions was this: all of our male
candidates were asked how they anticipate balancing family and
work, while all of our female candidates were asked about Iceland
and the EU instead. As female politicians are often asked to jus-
tify seeking a career when they have children, we thought it would
be fun to switch it up a little.
The only candidate who did not answer our questions, despite our
being asked by their campaign manager to send along questions,
and despite our repeated requests for a response, was Davíð Odd-
sson. We don’t know why he wouldn’t answer (although we can
guess it’s because we’ve been pretty critical of him over the years,
such speculations would be irresponsible).
In any event, readers, meet your candidates!
Elísabet Jökulsdóttir, author and poet
Does Iceland even need the office of the
presidency?
I’m not sure. Having a president is an old symbol
of a king, or a god. I think there are many gods.
So having one man to rule is not a model that
the modern world really needs. There are many
kinds of people running right now, and people
don’t know if we should have a political president
or just some kind of figurehead. So I suggested
we should have 18 women—because there were 18
women who were drowned at Þingvellir [in me-
dieval times]—acting as presidents. Because we
see men everywhere. They run everything, and
have done so for a thousand years. It’s not good
for the future. At least, we could try a matriarchal
council for four years, and then ask ourselves if it
was worth it.
Is Iceland better served by working more closely
with the EU, possibly even joining the EU, or are
we better off moving away from Schengen?
In recent years, I have wanted Iceland to get clos-
er to the EU. But since the war on Syria, and when
the war came walking to us, although Sweden
and Germany have shown generosity towards
refugees, the treatment refugees are facing in
camps in Greece and Macedonia are absolutely
terrible, and we do nothing. These are our broth-
ers and sisters. I think this is a big test for the
European Union, which it has so far failed.
Do you support a new constitutional amendment
that would establish term limits for the
presidency?
Yes. I support the new constitution in general.
Would you see yourself as a sort of "figurehead"
kind of president, or would you see yourself as
a politically active one? If politically active,
in what ways would you engage politically? If
a figurehead, what are your reasons for that
choice?
Well, I see myself as a poet, and my role is to
bring poetry to people. I think if people had
more poetry in their lives, their lives would be
more fulfilling, and more real, actually. I think
Icelandic people have a strong sense of poetry. I
recently learned that in fact the President of Par-
liament can sign laws to make them official. We
don’t need the President of Iceland for something
Parliament can do on its own.
Do you believe in human-caused climate
change?
I think climate change is the result of both nat-
ural and human-caused influences, but it’s ri-
diculous how we’ve treated the earth. We are so
greedy.
Do you support separation of church and state, as
71% of Icelanders said they do in the last opinion
poll taken on this topic?
Yes, I think so. My grandfather was a priest, and
I love churches. There are also a lot of young
priests who are telling us some good things.
But I think religion has contributed to global
warming; as the Bible says Man rules over all the
animals of the world. But I think instead that
animals should have constitutionally protected
rights. This reflects much older values, from hea-
then times, when we still recognised that all life
is interconnected.
Name three things you would bring to the
presidency that none of the other candidates
would.
Poetry, dance, and children. I would also like to
have cows at Bessastaðir, like there used to be.
Children could come out to Bessastaðir to take
care of the cows, and be closer to nature. There
are a lot of troubled teens in Iceland, and I think
they would benefit from being in contact with
life.
Halla Tómasdóttir, financier
Does Iceland even need the office of
the presidency? Why or why not?
Yes, Iceland needs forward-looking
leadership. I see the primary role of
the President to be a leader for the
future. A leader that helps the nation
form its vision for the future and live
according to our values.
Is Iceland better served by working
more closely with the EU, possibly
even joining the EU, or are we better
off moving away from Schengen?
I believe the people of Iceland should
be allowed to vote on this issue.
Do you support a new constitutional
amendment that would establish term
limits for the presidency?
Yes, I would support an amendment
for a term limit of two or three terms.
Do you support a new constitution for
Iceland in the general sense?
Yes.
Would you see yourself as a sort of
"figurehead" kind of president, or
would you see yourself as a politically
active one? If politically active,
in what ways would you engage
politically? If a figurehead, what are
your reasons for that choice?
I see myself as a forward-looking pres-
ident, interested in creating and for-
warding a dialogue on issues of long-
term concern to Icelanders (and the
world). Of primary concern are equal-
ity, education and entrepreneurship.
Do you believe in human-caused
climate change?
Yes.
Do you support separation of church
and state, as 71% of Icelanders said
they do in the last opinion poll taken on
this topic?
I believe this issue should be discussed
and voted upon by the Icelandic people.
Name three things you would bring to
the presidency that none of the other
candidates would.
International experience (studied,
worked and lived in US/UK and Nor-
dics). Proven track record as a change
catalyst in education, equality and
entrepreneurship. A husband who is a
chef.
ALL THE
PRESIDENTS