Iceland review - 2016, Page 85

ICELAND REVIEW 83
puts an immense strain on existing infra-
structure and fragile nature. “It’s a huge
task organizing the tourism industry. We
must make the country better prepared
for welcoming these masses of people,
not just haul them in and not know what
to do about them.”
One of the most disputed issues of
the past term was a ten-year agreement
on continued state funding for farmers.
“There were many good things about
it and it can be reviewed after three
years,” says Heiða. “Agriculture is impor-
tant. In all the countries we compare
ourselves to, agriculture is supported.
These are funds for consumers, for sub-
sidizing products. If we want to import
agricultural products, then from where?
They are being subsidized by the citi-
zens of a different country,” she points
out. “Importing food we can produce at
home comes at the expense of nature and
that’s at odds with the policy of the Left-
Greens.” Others are more critical of the
agricultural agreement. “We don’t think
it’s fair to use tariffs on such a large scale
[to protect domestic production] and
want to give consumers a choice,” says
Pawel of the Reform Party. “We want to
cancel production-related funding.” Inga
Björk of the Social Democrats agrees.
She favors the European Union’s policy
on agriculture: “The state isn’t bothered
about whether you keep goats or some-
thing else, as long as the farm is inhabit-
ed all year and some kind of agriculture
is practiced. This encourages innovation,
whereas in Iceland all funds are spent on
dairy and lamb production,” she explains.
In the last term, the Independence
Party-Progressive Party coalition with-
drew Iceland’s membership application
to the EU without consulting voters first,
going back on their promise before the
2013 election and causing uproar. While
Áslaug Arna and Páll Marís stand by
their parties’ decision and would not like
to resume talks at this point, represent-
atives of all the other parties—regard-
less of their personal standpoints—sup-
port continued talks, or a referendum to
determine whether talks should contin-
ue. “I want an informed discussion about
the pros and cons of EU membership.
Where we’re at today, we cannot make
an informed decision. We have to make
an agreement and then see in black-and-
white what membership looks like,” rea-
sons Dagný Rut of Bright Future.
The Pirate Party is an advocate for
radical changes to the administration.
“We must restore people’s faith in the
authorities and improve the working
facilities for the government and parlia-
ment. We must make sure that institu-
tions function the way they should and
put an end to corruption,” says Smári.
“We need to make substantial systematic
changes to the basic pillars of society.”
To the Pirates, this includes revising the
Constitution of Iceland, according to the
draft presented by the Constitutional
Council in 2011. The other interviewees
believe that the constitution should be
modernized to some extent but are wary
of an overhaul. “The constitution should
be changed in unity and not in too large
steps at a time,” opines Áslaug Arna.
IN THE HANDS OF DEMOCRACY
The Pirates want go the furthest in
terms of direct democracy, for example
enabling private citizens to put resolu-
tions on parliament’s agenda. In terms
of direct democracy, the others mention
that the constitution should better define
the right of the public to demand nation-
al referendums on big issues. “We need
to communicate with the people more,
although we shouldn’t have referendums
on a weekly basis,” says Dagný Rut. Inga
Björk questions direct democracy. “It
can be damaging if the public doesn’t
act responsibly. In the UK, ‘what is the
EU?’ was the second-most searched term
about the EU following Brexit, which
shows that people voted to leave without
making an informed decision,” she points
out.
“I want to make politics a little more
enjoyable,” states Áslaug Arna. In addi-
tion to bringing fun into politics, she
mentions legalizing NPA, user-managed
personal service for people with disabil-
ities, as a personal goal. “I want individ-
P O L I T I C S
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