Iceland review - 2016, Page 34

32 ICELAND REVIEW
June 25, election day, Guðni Th.
Jóhannesson looks nervous. The
first numbers have been announced.
He’s leading the race—but just barely.
Halla Tómasdóttir is only 1.5 percentage
points behind. The gap widens as the
evening progresses, and at midnight,
Guðni and his wife, Eliza Reid, join their
supporters. “Not every vote has been
counted,” Guðni cautions. He hesitates,
then exclaims: “But I believe the victory
is ours!” Celebration breaks out. On
August 1, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson will
be inaugurated as the sixth president of
Iceland.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
April 5: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, an
associate professor at the University of
Iceland and national broadcaster RÚV’s
go-to political analyst, is called to the
television studio (not the first time, nor
for the last time that week). In the
aftermath of the Panama Papers scan-
dal—uncovering that Prime Minister of
Iceland Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
held assets in an offshore company, with
the outraged public crying out for a new
government and his coalition partners
giving him the cold shoulder—the PM
tries to save face by dissolving parlia-
ment and calling for new elections. In
an unforeseen move, the PM drives to
Bessastaðir, the presidential residence, to
have President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
green-light his plan. However, the presi-
dent flatly refuses and Sigmundur Davíð
ends up resigning before the day is
through. RÚV broadcasts live from the
events as they unfold, with Guðni helping
to analyze the political farce. His hum-
ble, objective and humorous approach,
mixed with historical annotations and
obvious excitement about “being part of
history,” as he puts it—strikes a chord
with the nation.
The 2016 presidential election is set
for June 25 and Ólafur Ragnar’s fifth
term in office is nearing its end. “People
had joked: ‘Hey, why don’t you run for
president?’ But we had never seriously
considered it,” says Guðni’s wife, former
Iceland Review staff writer Eliza Reid, as
I follow them on their campaign trail on
June 21, four days before the election.
There are calls for Guðni to run, both
on social media and from strangers call-
ing his house. He’s an expert on the pres-
idential office, after all, having studied
the former presidents closely and pro-
filed one of them in detail. A new book
by Guðni on the presidency is scheduled
for release in the fall. The media pressure
him for a response to whether he will
run, but Guðni remains hesitant. Ólafur
Ragnar, who had previously announced
that he would retire after 20 years in
office, changes his mind in light of the
turmoil in society following the Panama
leaks, as he explains, and is now running,
prepared to serve a record sixth term. His
decision is criticized by many: How can
he possibly be the face of ‘New Iceland’?
Or how a likable history professor became the president of Iceland.
BY EYGLÓ SVALA ARNARSDÓTTIR.
PHOTOS BY HÅKON BRODER LUND, PÁLL STEFÁNSSON AND STEFÁN PÁLSSON.
THE ACCIDENTAL
PRESIDENCY
Then the media reveal that the family
of Dorrit Moussaieff, Ólafur Ragnar’s
wife and the nation’s first lady, is in
possession of offshore accounts, leaving
the president in a tight spot. After a
poll ranks Guðni—by then still undecid-
ed—slightly higher than the incumbent,
Guðni makes the move and on May 5
his campaign becomes official. Ólafur
Ragnar swiftly drops back out of the race,
reasoning that it’s time for him to call it
quits as the public can now vote for can-
didates who have “extensive knowledge
of the nature, history and projects of
the presidential office” (by then former
Prime Minister Davíð Oddsson had also
announced his candidacy). In every poll
since, Guðni remains the leading candi-
date with ratings of 45-69 percent.
“YOU HAVE MY VOTE”
On June 21, Guðni and Eliza have just
returned from a round-trip of the coun-
try, visiting all major towns and some
villages with only a few hundred inhab-
itants. “Everyone has been friendly and
supportive,” says Eliza. She laughs as she
describes one woman who came running
when she saw Guðni, giving him a hug,
then declaring that she respected him—
but that she wasn’t voting for him. Her
daughter is, though, along with most
other people they meet. “There’s some-
thing special about the Icelandic way of
saying: ‘You have my vote,’” adds Eliza.
Back in Reykjavík, Guðni speaks to