Not Politics As Usual
Yesterday was all about elections. We had local elections here in Iceland. I think this is the first time I've seen local elections here get so much attention abroad. I'm into politics. Even belong to one of the parties here. Can't say I'm happy with the results we got. On the other hand, I'm not all surprised. We're still dealing with a collapse in public trust. When that happens you don't have politics as usual anymore. Instead we get the rapid rise of a political party that on the surface seems to be just a satire of politics. The Best Party. It managed to secure 6 out of 15 seats in the Reykjavik city council, becoming the largest party in terms of seats and popular votes. At the start of it's campaign I don't think anyone took it that seriously. But once opinion polls showed the party managing to get seats on the council, it started to gain momentum. Quickly becoming the favorite and attracting people who under normal circumstances probably wouldn't even have bothered with politics. At one point opinion polls even indicated the party would gain a majority on the city council.
It's interesting that a satire of politics could gain so much popular support. It's also a clear and loud message from the voting public, that it's looking for change. This message wasn't just sent in one location either. Voters went for political parties that are not associated with the traditional political system. What's interesting is that this is all taking place within the democratic process. People may have lost faith in the traditional political parties, but they haven't given up on the political process. The fact is that politics and the language used by politicians had become disjointed from the general public. The biting satire exposed this. Sustainable transparency was the perfect example. Meaningless and empty. Following a clear call for honesty, equality, respect and justice at the Þjóðfundur assembly. It seems clear that the traditional political parties have been unable to react in a manner that satisfied voters. This might have been meet with apathy or direct action. Now comes the difficult part for the newly elected representatives. If the new parties do well, we just might be seeing the dawn of new political movements.
But it wasn't all about politics. Yesterday was also the day the Eurovision song contest was held. The Icelandic contribution didn't get a lot of points. But that didn't spoil the fun.
It's interesting that a satire of politics could gain so much popular support. It's also a clear and loud message from the voting public, that it's looking for change. This message wasn't just sent in one location either. Voters went for political parties that are not associated with the traditional political system. What's interesting is that this is all taking place within the democratic process. People may have lost faith in the traditional political parties, but they haven't given up on the political process. The fact is that politics and the language used by politicians had become disjointed from the general public. The biting satire exposed this. Sustainable transparency was the perfect example. Meaningless and empty. Following a clear call for honesty, equality, respect and justice at the Þjóðfundur assembly. It seems clear that the traditional political parties have been unable to react in a manner that satisfied voters. This might have been meet with apathy or direct action. Now comes the difficult part for the newly elected representatives. If the new parties do well, we just might be seeing the dawn of new political movements.
But it wasn't all about politics. Yesterday was also the day the Eurovision song contest was held. The Icelandic contribution didn't get a lot of points. But that didn't spoil the fun.
Ummæli