Left-Green Movement

Left-Green Movement
Vinstrihreyfingin – grænt framboð
Chairperson Katrín Jakobsdóttir
Vice-chairperson Edward H. Hujibens
Chairperson of the parliamentary group Bjarkey Olsen Gunnarsdóttir
General Secretary Björg Eva Erlendsdóttir
Founded 6 February 1999
Split from People's Alliance
Headquarters Túngata 14,
101 Reykjavík
Youth wing Young Left-Greens
Ideology Democratic socialism[1]
Eco-socialism[1]
Euroscepticism[2]
Feminism[1][3]
Pacifism[3]
Political position Centre-left[4] to
left-wing[5][6]
European affiliation Nordic Green Left Alliance
International affiliation None
Colours           Red and Green
Seats in the Althing
11 / 63
Election symbol
V
Website
www.vg.is
Part of a series on
Green politics

The Left-Green Movement (Icelandic: Vinstrihreyfingin – grænt framboð, also known by its abbreviation Vinstri Græn, VG) is a eco-socialist political party in Iceland.[1] It is the second largest party in the Althingi, with 11 members of 63 in total, and is currently the leading party in a three-party coalition government formed after the 2017 elections. The party chair is Katrín Jakobsdóttir, MP and the 28th Prime Minister of Iceland since 30 November 2017. The vice chair is Edward H. Hujibens. The secretary-general of the party is Björg Eva Erlendsdóttir. The Left-Green Movement is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance.[7]

History

The party was founded in 1999 by members of Althing who did not approve of the merger of left-wing political parties in Iceland which resulted in the formation of the Social Democratic Alliance.

In the 1999 parliamentary election, the Left-Green Movement took 9.1% of the vote and six seats in the Althing. The party had five members in the 63-seat Icelandic parliament after the 2003 parliamentary election, where it polled 8.8% of the vote. After the 2007 parliamentary election, the party had 9 seats in parliament, having received 14.3% of the vote.

In 2009, the Left-Green Movement joined the first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir as the minor partner to the Social Democratic Alliance after the previous coalition government of the Alliance and the centre-right Independence Party collapsed.[8] In the subsequent elections, it rose from 9 seats to 14, becoming Iceland's third-largest party (close behind the Independence Party) with 21.7% of the vote, which is the second largest outcome of a left-wing party in Iceland, after the post-communist People's Alliance in 1978 when it got 22.9% of the vote. The party gained one seat in addition, when a non-party parliamentarian joined the party.[9] Since then, three members of the parliamentary group have left the party. One joined the agrarian Progressive Party, and two others became non-partisans. After the elections of 2013, the party was in the opposition and had 7 seats in the parliament. In the 2016 parliamentary election, the Left-Green party polled 15.9% of the vote and 10 seats in the Althing becoming the second largest party after the Independence Party.

Ideology

The Left-Green Movement focuses on democratic socialist values, feminism, and environmentalism, as well as increased democracy and direct involvement of the people in the administration of the country. The party opposes Iceland's involvement in NATO, and also the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The party rejects membership of the European Union, and supports the Palestinian cause in the Middle East. It supports the mutual adaptation and integration of immigrants into Icelandic society as necessary.[10]

Electoral results

Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
1999 15,115 9.1
6 / 63
 Increase 6 Increase 4th Opposition
2003 16,129 8.8
5 / 63
 Decrease 1 Steady 4th Opposition
2007 26,136 14.3
9 / 63
 Increase 4 Increase 3rd Opposition
2009 40,581 21.6
14 / 63
 Increase 5 Steady 3rd Coalition
2013 20,546 10.8
7 / 63
 Decrease 7 Decrease 4th Opposition
2016 30,166 15.9
10 / 63
 Increase 3 Increase 2nd Opposition
2017 33,155 16.9
11 / 63
 Increase 1 Steady 2nd Coalition

Leadership

Nº Chairman Took office Left office
1 Steingrímur J. Sigfússon
(1955)		 1999 2013
2 Katrín Jakobsdóttir
(1976)		 2013 Present

Members of Parliament

Since the elections in 2016, the Left-Green Movement has ten members of parliament.

Member of ParliamentSinceTitleConstituency
Steingrímur J. Sigfússon 1983 Northeast Constituency
Katrín Jakobsdóttir 2007 Reykjavik Constituency North
Svandís Svavarsdóttir 2009 Leader of the Parliamentary Group Reykjavik Constituency South
Lilja Rafney Magnúsdóttir 2009 Northwest Constituency
Bjarkey Gunnarsdóttir 2013 Northeast Constituency
Steinunn Þóra Árnadóttir 2014 Became a Member of Parliament when Árni Þór Sigurðsson left office mid-term. Reykjavik Constituency North
Ari Trausti Guðmundsson 2016 South Constituency
Andrés Ingi Jónsson 2016 Reykjavík Constituency North
Kolbeinn Óttarsson Proppé 2016 Reykjavík Constituency South
Rósa Björk Brynjólfsdóttir 2016 Southwest Constituency
Ólafur Þór Gunnarsson 2017 Southwest Constituency

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Iceland". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  2. ↑ "Iceland could be EU member by 2011". EUobserver. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 The Reykjavík Grapevine Election Guide 2013 Archived 14 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine., The Reykjavík Grapevine, April 5, 2013
  4. ↑ "Iceland forms left-right coalition government". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 November 2017. (subscription required)
  5. ↑ Icelandic Parliamentary Election 2017: Party Overview. Iceland Review. Author - Jelena Ćirić. Published 27 October 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  6. ↑ Katrín Jakobsdóttir tipped as Iceland's new Prime Minister. Nordic Labour Journal. Author - Guðrún Helga Sigurðardóttir. Published 17 November 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  7. ↑ "The Left-Green Movement of Iceland". Nordic Green Left Alliance. Archived from the original on 18 February 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  8. ↑ Wikinews:Icelandic centre-left coalition secures majority in parliamentary elections
  9. ↑ "Independent Icelandic MP joins Left Greens". IceNews. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "The Left-Green Movement". Left-Green Movement homepage. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
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