Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.02.2017, Page 20

Between The Two Towers:
The delicate balancing
act of Óttarr Proppé
From punk rock frontman to accidental politician, this
man is now the Minister of Health. Arising from a storm
of criticism, Óttarr talks to us about reform, herding
cats, and the failure of modern politics.
Óttar Proppé is an unlikely politician.
A bleach-blond, flat-capped figure
dressed in 70s-style garb, he first en-
tered the public consciousness as the
frontman of the legendary Icelandic
rock band HAM, and later as a backing
singer in the Eurovision contender
Pollapönk, and the punk outfit Rass.
Something about his mannerisms,
his look and and his general quirki-
ness indicate that he’s not from cut
from the usual pinstriped cloth.
It’s equally hard to imagine him as
a rock star. In person, Óttarr is a quiet
and unassuming fellow who chooses
his words carefully, often tentatively
circling his point before getting there.
His foray into the world of politics
was almost accidental, and he at-
tributes it to a 2010 phone call from
former Reykjavík mayor and come-
dian Jón Gnarr. “He got this crazy idea
and called me up to join in with the
Best Party,” recalls Óttarr. “I'm not
sure I would've done anything without
that prompt.”
That said, Óttarr contends that he’s
always been, to some degree, politi-
cally minded. “I was brought up in
the punk movement and the anarchy
movement of the 80s,” he says. “It was
about putting your fist up to The Man,
but also championing the individual's
rights in this society.”
After getting settled into his new
role as a politician, he soon realised
that politics was “more natural” to
him than he’d previously imagined.
He also realised he wanted to take a
different approach than his political
predecessors. This led to the forma-
tion of the Bright Future party in
2012. Bright Future began as a rela-
tively marginalised opposition party,
but after last October’s elections and
weeks of coalition talks, it’s has been
thrust into the spotlight as one of
three parties in Iceland’s new govern-
ing coalition.
This situation has placed Óttarr
the unenviable position of trying to
reconcile Bright Future’s differences
with Iceland’s right-wing parties—the
Independence Party and the Reform
Party—while, at the same time,
maintaining working relations with
Iceland’s leftist parties. As the ruling
coalition has a majority of exactly one
seat, this delicate balancing act will
be crucial to Iceland’s government
being able to function.
How does Óttarr plan to do this?
Can the formula hold? And, as Ice-
land’s new Minister of Health, how
will he confront the challenges he
will face overseeing what is one of the
most pressing issues on the minds of
Icelandic voters?
What does Bright Future stand for?
I think Bright Future's name is
self-explanatory in many ways, in
that Bright Future is set up to be a
liberal democrat party that is looking
towards the future, trying to dis-
tance itself from special interests,
fighting for reforming and opening
up systems and ways of working in
politics. It's a product of the crash and
the reaction to the crash, not only in
Iceland, but worldwide, that politics
and official political power had be-
come the realm of a select group and
Words
PAUL
FONTAINE
Photos
BALDUR
KRISTJÁNSSON