Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.10.2016, Blaðsíða 8

Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.10.2016, Blaðsíða 8
Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir The Politics Issue 8The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 15 — 2016 Share this article: GPV.IS/POLL16 Share this article: GPV.IS/POLL16 Words PAUL FONTAINE Words PAUL FONTAINE Illustration HALLI CIVELEK ARTICLE ANALYSIS Party Platforms Where Do They Want To Take Us? The Grapevine Readers Poll Results How do your views line up with mainstream Iceland? Normally each election cycle, we ask each of the parties with a good chance of getting into Parliament what their platforms are. But since we’re focus- ing on the future, Ideal Iceland here, we were more curious to know what any of these parties plan to do to change things for the better, if any- thing. Here, then, dear readers, are the parties who look likely to get at least a couple seats in Parliament, and where they would like to steer the country. Viðreisn (centre-right) 1. A liberal party which supports equality, economic freedom and West- ern cooperation. 2. We will lower interest rates by peg- ging the króna to another currency, such as the Euro, through so-called currency board. We want more Euro- pean and international cooperation. The future of the EU accession talks should be decided in a national refer- endum. We will reform the national agricultural policy to give consumers more freedom of choice. We want to make it easier for foreigners to move to Iceland to work and study. 3. We will go by our agenda. Out of the parties currently in Parliament we are probably closest to Bright Future, but we rule out no partners if they agree to our reforms. Social Democratic Alliance (centre-left) 1. We strive for equal opportunities and social justice for all. 2. Our priorities are to rebuild the health service to become the world’s best. We want to help repair the hous- ing mar- ket. Sam- f y l k i n g i n (the Social- D emo c rat ic A l l i a n c e ) will reform the fisher- ies system by auction- ing a share of the fish- ing quotas to the highest bidders. We will contin- ue with the n a t i o n a l l y owned con- s t i t u t i o n a l process based on the con- s t i t u t i o n a l council and referendu m of 2012. 3. Our first option will be to form a government with the current opposition parties, a similar coalition as the one we lead in the Reykjavík city council. The Pirate Party (rejects the left- right spectrum) 1. Civil rights, internet freedoms, lib- eral, modern, direct and improved de- mocracy. 2. First and foremost we aim to enact the new constitution approved by the people in the 2012 referendum. We aim to change the fisheries system so that all permitted quotas will be sold on an open market. We aim to substantially increase spending on our healthcare system so that it will be freely and fully available to all persons inhabit- ing Iceland, irrespective of where they live or their e c o n o m i c status. The Pirate Party is highly con- cerned about the protec- tion and strengthen- ing of civil rights both in Iceland and abroad. One of our many policies in this area is to fully realize the potential of the par- l i a m e n t a r y resolution of the Icelandic Modern Me- dia Initiative (IMMI). We also reached out to the immigrant community in Iceland and asked them to take the lead in creating an immi- gration policy for the Pirates. The ini- tiative was highly successful and we now have a great immigration policy, made for the most part by immigrants themselves. 3. The Pirate Party has not officially ruled out collaboration with any party currently likely to win seats in Par- liament. Nevertheless, we consider it unlikely that we will find common ground with the current government parties, as both parties have indicated strongly that they oppose our main policy goal, the enactment of the new constitution. The Independence Party (right- wing) 1. Right-of-centre (liberal-conserva- tive); emphasising fiscal responsibil- ity, free enterprise, and civil liberties. 2. We will provide strong national leadership and a clear economic plan to a better, more secure future, with plenty of opportunity for creative and enterprising people. Our plan for get- ting Iceland On the Right Track calls for consolidating our fiscal and eco- nomic recovery. This will foster the longest growth period in Iceland’s history, ensuring that Iceland will re- main one of the fastest growing devel- oped economies in the world. Having restored the economy as well as the treasury, we will proceed in the next election term to rebuild and fortify in- frastructure, national healthcare and social welfare. We will make sure that the recovery benefits every Icelander, regardless of gender or age, origin or residence, health or ability, means or education, faith or sexual orientation. We will lift the bulk of capital controls still in place and lower taxes on ordi- nary working families, building an economy that works for everyone. 3. The Independence Party will not commit to any preference for coalition parties prior to the election. Not only would that be premature and politi- cally imprudent, but also an affront to the voters and their franchise. >>>>>> Well, we had to get in on the act, and set up our own online poll. As with all open-ended online polls, ours too was completely unscientific, only with the added bonus of being conducted over the course of just a few days. We sent out the call, and an astound- ing 235 of you answered. We are humbled. Here’s how our poll worked. Our poll was based on one con- ducted by Maskína (see www. gpv.is/maskina) for RÚV last month, whereby respondents were presented with a list of is- sues. Only RÚV respondents were asked to rate each one in terms of level of importance. We asked our readers to choose their personal top three. These results reflect which issues were the most to least likely to be in any given reader’s top three. We also gave our readers the chance to offer their own written cave- ats to their responses, which you can read below. With that in mind, here are the results: Of the following issues, select three (3) that you believe the Icelandic government must pay the most attention to after elections: Answer Choices Responses Health care 59.60% Housing 57.58% Environmentalism 40.40% The use of natural resources 30.30% Revising the Constitution 26.26% Education 26.26% Immigration, asylum seekers & refugees 24.24% Job creation in rural Iceland 15.15% Taxes, either raising or lowering them 11.11% Disabled people and pensioners 7.07% Joining the European Union 7.07% The location of the domestic airport 3.03% (i.e., to remain in Reykjavík or be moved elsewhere) Our readers were very eager to respond in writing, as well. As to be expected, a great many emphasised the need to protect Icelandic nature, and to improve the infrastructure of the tour- ism industry, while also empha- sising that tourism itself should be contained to some degree. However, many readers also ex- pressed hopes and dreams for Icelandic society. They stressed such concepts as Iceland becom- ing a whistleblower haven, revis- ing its constitution, making the immigration process simpler, creating more affordable hous- ing, sustainable energy to power fleets of electric cars - countless almost utopian ideas that our readers believe Iceland can and should take up. Overall, this has been a very encouraging experience. Maybe sometime soon we’ll even throw in for an actual scientific poll. Expect a call from us just as you sit down to dinner soon! The Questions 1. Describe your party platform in 10 words or less (Editor’s note: Only three parties managed to do this). 2. What ideas does your party have for changing Iceland for the better? 3. Of the other parties currently polling high enough to win seats in Parliament if elections were held today, who could you see yourselves partnering with in a coalition? Who could you see yourselves absolutely not partnering with in a coalition?
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