Iceland: disillusioned public vote comedian for mayor

this is no joke!

in a wonderful (in my opinion) turn of events, a 'joke' party called the best party (besti flokkurinn) founded by a local comedian and his party consisting largely of artists and musicians has just achieved majority vote in the reykjavík city elections. (29.05.10)

this has come as quite a shock to the traditional political establishment, and is being explained as a result of the public disillusionment with the icelandic political systems of both before and after the 'revolution' of january 2009. while the party publicly portrays itself to have little interest in conventional politics, its leading comedian member jón gnarr seems to have a very healthy idea of what constitutes a happy and humane society, publicly mocks the double standards and corruption of the political establishment, and has put into motion a movement to completely disassemble the public idea of what politics are, who does them, and what purpose they serve. (and by whom they are funded!)
i very much look forward to the times ahead, to see the effect this will have on icelandic society. maybe even other countries may start taking note

here is a very nice interview with jón gnarr in the local english-language paper (pdf only i'm afraid) on pages 14 and 27, it is from a week or so ago.

www.grapevine.is...

please excuse the lack of rigorous fact-finding - i just thought this was quite a significant event and wanted to give a heads-up for those who are interested.

drottin blessi allskonar!

About as delusional as having Al Frankin in goberment service.
And what has Uncle Al done for us? Helped pass the Uber health-care Bill.

hi i'm awake again now, and have found a rather dry article giving a little more 'official' info on the whole matter. interestingly, though the article is from nearly two weeks ago, their predictive figures are spot on.

www.icenews.is...

wow it does help to actually be awake. found another article on telegraph.co.uk with a promotional video from the best party i hadn't seen before. to the tune of simply the best! sadly they didn't accieve the 8 seat majority predicted at the time, but still they got 6 which is more than any of the traditional parties.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

interesting also to note that though the best party is limited to reykjavík, local elections around the country have all seen similar unexpected turns of events with the old guard toppling across the country.

anarchy in the rvk! and free towels in the swimming pools!


(edit to fix coffee-induced spelling)

[edit on 30-5-2010 by darkcircle2009]

[edit on 30-5-2010 by darkcircle2009]

hey excuse me bombing my own thread with my own replies but... where is everybody!!?? i know there's an awful lot going on in the world at the mo, but in my opinion this is definitely one of them, or at least part of one. public distrust in conventional politics and something actually happening about it!!?? i think that's quite significant.

this is my first thread... am i doing something wrong? maybe i'll sensationalise the title!

edit... oh. don't know how to. read as: iceland: disillusioned public vote anarchist comedian for mayor

[edit on 1-6-2010 by darkcircle2009]

I've been up all night, it's 5:37 my time. Just saw your thread and it looked interesting.

I think it could be a good thing to have mock politicians in there, if they don't take the office as serious as the others they are less prone to corruption as they aren't fighting to keep themselves within the establishment.

It's like minor parties gaining control, they are more open and transparent until about 5 years in then they turn corrupt.

reply to post by darkcircle2009


Yeah it's all fun until they lock you up.

"Sorry folks, democracy has been suspended because you f*ckers didn't take it seriously."

I swear that people have forgotten what freedom is, how hard it is to obtain and how you have to fight to keep it.

In my country we have similar ridiculous things going on. A political party for animals......?? A political party devoted to looking after the rights of animals "because animals can't vote"......

What about a political party devoted to kicking out each and every immigrant "because we can't afford it"....

Or what about a political party that has the legalization of downloading software and music as it's main agenda point....

Populism, that's what it's called!!

What concerns me is what these clowns are going to do to my country and my rights after they have reached their objective. People don't see this or they don't want to see this because they are tired of the "old batch" and the need something new.....no matter what the cost.

If their is one thing consistent, all throughout history, it is that freedom has to be fought over again and again and again.....(and we are doing it to our selfs!!)

Peace

PS: I realize that we are only talking about a major but it is in line with the current trend I just described

hey guys thanks for answering my cry for help

in response to operation mindcrime...
yes, completely, but the interesting point here is that, similar to many 'comedians', jón gnarr is actually a very clever fella and does very much have political ideas besides ´free towels in the public baths and drug-free parliament by 2020.' (i urge anyone interested to read the supplied pdf... gives good insight into the mind of this man.) the comedy is the guise of a court jester, the comedians in hamlet. or so it seems.

also, this is iceland, 300,000 inhabitants. corruption can quickly become transparent, and things happen quickly, especially in the current political climate. the people are pi**ed off and they have his back.

so it could be the start of something very interesting, or a complete disaster. i also do not rule out the possibility of a setup. at any rate, the people voted against conventional politics, which in itself is a good sign. the momentum has been gaining since october '08.

love and growth

edit ps how do i change the title?

[edit on 1-6-2010 by darkcircle2009]

reply to post by darkcircle2009


It's not only Iceland that is sick of it's political system, I believe most first-world-countries are done with their politicians. It's a luxury problem....

Let's put it this way, before all h*ll broke loose and before the money disappeared, was life in Iceland that bad (compared to....oh let's say...North-Korea)??

Could you express your opinion without being locked up in jail? Were basic human right respected? (I know the answer.... )

When every thing is going like it should we don't complain but when a storm is brewing we haul *ss and turn the ship around as if those same politician suddenly don't function anymore.....that's ridiculous!!

At the very least, I know the politicians that have served me in the past are not the ones with radical ideas of how things should be changed. With any new party you are running the risk of radical measures which might be good for you but good very well not be good for you or somebody else...

You can ask that any random German over the age of 70. They will advise you to use caution when picking a new, popular politician with radical ideas.

I think a good rule of thumb, when picking a leader, the more popular they are, the more you have to be on your gard.

Now I am sure that this comedian has a very clear view of society and how it needs to be changed (That's his job!!) but that doesn't necessarily mean it will work. From his point of view (as a comedian) the solutions he has might differ from the sollutions he will implement (as a politician).

If I were to tell everybody that I plan to extend the weekend with 3 extra days if appointed president, then that will probably get me in that seat. Living up to this promise, while maintaining a healthy nation budget, would probably prove impossible. I don't care, I am still in that seat. And if anybody objects.......well.

Peace

reply to post by operation mindcrime


thanks for your well thought-out replies.
i think we will just have to watch this space!
i, for one, feel that something interesting is happening here. whether or not it pans out that way is yet to be seen.
by the way: my stepfather is german, turning seventy in two weeks (does that count!?) and he was a founding member of a very radical and popular new party in the late sixties. they did a lot of good things, the most significant of which maybe was inspiring the people.
by the other way, life in iceland is still not bad, in fact i would say it was very good indeed, and much visionary activity is happening. it is not so much the case of a single hero figure arriving to save the day (like someone else you were alluding to ) - for a start it is as much about the co-members of this new party as it is about their 'leader' - but it is just a drop on a palatable ocean of things happening here, of awareness, awakening, realisation that the system needs changing and is being changed on a very grassroots level. the anarchist comedian is really just a symbol for a whole host of other momentum, or a 'symptom' thereof.
maybe one needs to be here to get a real sense for what i am trying to portray - i hope my illustration has painted a slightly clearer picture

peace and growth