Icelanders vote while concerned about economy after government collapsed over immigration issues

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Icelanders voted in a legislative election on Nov 30 after the collapse of a fraught coalition prompted a snap poll where the economy is a top concern.

Battling inflation and high interest rates, the economy, housing and healthcare have dominated the campaign for the 268,000 people eligible to vote.

Fears have been raised that some voters may struggle to reach polling stations as heavy snowfall and strong winds have been predicted for some regions.

“I feel we need change,” 48-year-old film producer Grimar Jonsson said.

Mr Jonsson said he hopes to see a change of government and “getting rid of so-called old-fashioned political parties”.

Icelandic Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson’s three-party, left-right coalition resigned in October.

The coalition of Mr Benediktsson’s Independence Party, the Left-Green Movement and the centre-right Progressive Party was divided on a range of issues but broke down over the handling of migrants and asylum seekers.

Despite causing the demise of the Icelandic government, immigration is not a galvanising issue. One in five residents in the country is foreign-born.

“It is very prominent in the public debate amongst politicians, but still it does not seem to be an issue that people are putting at the front of their list of important issues,” Professor Eirikur Bergmann, who teaches at Bifrost University, said.

Balance

According to a Gallup poll published in early November, only 32 per cent of respondents listed immigration as a key issue and only 18 per cent included asylum issues.

In contrast, healthcare, economic issues and housing were a top concern for more than 60 per cent of them.

Broadcaster RUV reported that an artificial intelligence chatbot set up to answer questions about the election has mostly been asked about housing and tax issues.

For first-time voter Lena Brynjardottir, housing is a top concern.

“But also I want to have focus on the financial while also looking at human rights and immigration as well”, the 18-year-old voter said. “I think balance is what is the most important for me right now in this election.”

The coalition has lost support during its time in power.

According to a recent RUV poll, only 49 per cent of those who voted for the Independence Party in 2021 planned to do so again.

The Left-Green Movement looks to retain less than a fifth of its voters and risks falling below the parliamentary cut-off of 5 per cent, meaning it could fail to get a seat, according to the poll by analyst group Maskina.

Few Icelandic parties have left their time in power unscathed since the 2008 financial crisis, which hit Iceland’s over-indebted banks.

“In the last 15 years, voters in Iceland have been extremely critical of their governments and voted against the government in all elections except one,” Professor Olafur Hardarson, who teaches political science at the University of Iceland, said.

The exception was Ms Katrin Jakobsdottir of the Left-Green Movement, who held on as Icelandic prime minister in the last election.

Mr Benediktsson took over as prime minister in April 2024 after Ms Jakobsdottir resigned to run for the presidency, which she failed to win.

Volcanoes

In 2024, Iceland has experienced more than political turmoil.

The south-western Reykjanes peninsula, which had not seen a volcanic eruption for eight centuries prior to March 2021, has had seven eruptions in 2024,

including one last week

that is still spewing lava.

The eruptions have led to multiple evacuations of the fishing village of Grindavik, and Iceland’s famed Blue Lagoon hot spa.

Going into the election, the Social Democratic Alliance – led by Ms Kristrun Frostadottir – is ahead in the polls with 20.4 per cent, RUV reported this week, citing another Maskina poll.

In second place is the Liberal Reform Party, with 19.2 per cent of voter support.

Mr Benediktsson’s Independence Party polled in third place with 14.5 per cent.

According to Prof Hardarson, if the election results come in close to the polls,

one likely coalition

would be the Social Democratic Alliance and the Liberal Reform Party – with one or two others – as their policies are relatively close.

“This is difficult to predict because in Iceland, the coalition game is relatively open,” he noted. AFP