The Icelandic snap election - a game changer

By Tanja Kristmannsdottir, Board Member

The snap election in Iceland was called with only a months notice after the government collapsed in the middle of September this year. It is worth noticing, that the snap election was held only a year after the last elections on Iceland. As expected, the snap election, which was held on October 28th, changed a lot. 

The Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn), the previous governmental party, continued to be the largest party on Iceland, which it has been for the last few decades. The Independence Party won 25,2% of the votes, which means that the party secured 16 MPs in Parliament. The Left-Green Movement (Vinstri grænir) were the predicted winners of the elections, but they didn‘t get as much support as the polls were expecting and ended up with winning only 16,9% of the votes and 11 MPs in Parliament . The Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) split in two right before the snap election but managed to hold on to all of their MPs which were elected back in 2016 (8 in total) with a result of 10,7% of the votes. The Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) did well in the snap election and increased their number of MPs from 3 to 7 by winning 12,1% of the votes. The Pirate Party (Píratar) lost 4 MPs and have now 6 MPs in Parliament (9,2%).

“As a result, Iceland is looking at a new Parliament consisting of 8 different parties, a situation quite unusual for the country.”

The two other governmental parties did terrible in the snap election. The Reform Party (Viðreisn) got 4 MPs elected and won 6,7% of the votes and while Bright Future (Björt Framtíð) won 1,2% of the votes, resulting in no elected MPs. Two new parties entered the snap election this year, the Centre Party (Miðflokkurinn), which split from Progressive Party, and Flokkur fólksins (the People's Party). The Centre Party managed to win 10,9% of the votes resulting in 7 elected MPs, while the People's Party won 6,9% of the votes and got 4 MPs elected.

As a result, Iceland is looking at a new Parliament consisting of 8 different parties, a situation quite unusual for the country. There are no chances of a two-party government, which means that the new government has to be formed by at least 3 or 4 parties. This is unusal for Iceland since the country normally has two-party governments. As of now, it looks like the new government has three options. First, it can go right and form a government consisting of the Independence Party, the Progressive Party, the Centre Party and the People's Party. Second, it can choose to go left, which would result in the Left-Green Movement, the Social Democratic Alliance, the Progressive Party and the Pirate Party in government. Or third, there is the option of going across the usual left-right axis which would most certainly result in the following combination: the Independence Party, the Left-Green Movement and the Progressive Party. 

Johanna Mantere runs for presidency of the NCF

Johanna Mantere (Svensk Ungdom) has announced that she is running for President of the Nordic Centre Youth (NCF). Mantere is 24 years old and has been active in various of youth organisations for many years. She is currently the first vice president of the NCF as well as the vice chairperson of the International Committee of Swedish Youth. Mantere studies Public International Law and International Human Rights Law at Åbo Akademi.

“We need a strong Nordic co-operation more than ever. NCF has been a spokesperson for that  co-operation in the Nordics for over 50 years. I want to continue the path that the NCF has been creating and together with fellow centre-liberals, find solutions and visions for our future Norden. While the NCF should be a platform to build networks and friendships, it should also be a strong voice heard in both the Nordic Youth Council as well as the Nordic Council.”

— Johanna Mantere, SU

Robert Steffens (Centerpartiets Ungdomsförbund) supports Mantere for president. Steffens is a board member of the International Committee of CUF and represents the NCF in the Nordic Youth Council.

“Johanna is a very competent person and knows how to be a good leader. She is the perfect person to lead the NCF. She has my full support.”

- Robert Steffens, CUF

Mantere also receives support from fellow board member Syver Zachariassen (Senterungdommen) who is also active within his own organisation's International Committee.

“Johanna is including in her work and has the ability to widen the perspectives of policy-making in the NCF. Her warmth and charisma will be an asset for the work in the board.”

- Syver Zachariassen, Senterungdommen

The Nordic Centre Youth will elect a new board and a new President at the Repskap in Skåne, 28-30 April 2017. The current President Erik Carter (Radikal Ungdom) is stepping down, after leading the work of the NCF for three years.

For more information,

Johanna Mantere: johanna.mantere@gmail.com or +358 40 5386699

Emma Tcheng: ncf.secretarygeneral@gmail.com or +31 6 13 78 66 79

Erik Carter to run again as President of the NCF

Erik Carter from Radikal Ungdom has been the President of the NCF since August 2014, and will run for his third term as President at the Repskap in Oslo in the end of April. 

Erik is 22 years old, works full time for Microsoft Denmark and has a bachelor in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen. He's the former European Officer of Radikal Ungdom.

"2014 was all about restructuring the NCF's foundation. We had a devastated economy, unfair membership fees and were unable to have physical meetings within the board. After getting our funding back in 2015, we've focused on refining the work that went into the political program. We've also got a whole new website, massively improved our presence on Facebook and Instagram and been very active in our respective member organizations. And of course we've been celebrating the milestone the 50-year anniversary was for us in October 2015 in Copenhagen."

“2016 is the year where the NCF not only has a voice - it’s the year our voice will be heard.”

— Erik Carter, president of the NCF

Erik at the 50-year anniversary of the NCF in Copenhagen.

"We've been in Nordic national media several times, we've put actual policy on the agenda in the Nordic Council and we're currently building a campaign around removing the Nordic borders. 2016 is the year where the NCF not only has a voice - it's the year where our voice will be heard.

We'll also be having totally new initiatives: a meeting for all the secretary generals of NCF-organizations in Helsinki in May and a Summer Camp for 65 people in Umeå in Sweden in July. We've secured funding for these events by being proactive and planning ahead. This approach is what I belive will keep the NCF going forward and evolving in the future. We need to be the place where people meet each other. Build friendships, networks and experiences that last."

The new board will be elected the 30th April 2016 in Oslo, Norway.

Read more about Erik here.

FAQ - Nordic citizenship

Curious about Nordic citizenship but unsure what it means?

The vision: It has to be as easy to participate in, move to and live in other Nordic countries as your own. We want a Norden without borders and with active citizens.

There are several aspects to Nordic citizenship. Here, we outline the frequently asked questions (FAQ):

"Are you removing my national citizenship?"

No. The Nordic citizenship will simply mean that you keep your national citizenship but are treated equally in other Nordic countries should you choose to live there. It's common sense, really.

"Are you against EU-citizenship?"

We actually don't have an opinion on that. We believe in Nordic integration because the Nordic countries are economically, culturally and historically similar. We've showed the world what good societies look like for more than 60 years. If the EU was inspired, we'd simply be flattered.

"Will all rights and duties follow me if i move?"

Yes and no. Yes, because we want you to be treated as equally as possible in the Nordic country you should choose to live in. No, because some duties like military service are too much to ask for from citizens that have just shown up to the party. So this will be open for discussion.

"Why not propose a nordic federation?"

The idea is interesting, but we're more focused on how to help people on an everyday level. We believe the Nordic cooperation has always been driven by a bottom-up engagement from citizens, so we find it natural to strengthen that level first.

"Will it not create welfare tourism?"

Well, first of all, we don't really believe that people leave their home country, all their friends and their life to get a marginally higher income from social benefits. But even if people choose to do so, we want a mechanism in place so the countries compensate each other so no one has to pay an unreasonable amount of money for supporting other Nordic countries' citizens.

Still in need of an answer?

Meet the board: Erik Carter (Radikal Ungdom)

Here is your shot at getting to know the board of the NCF even better! Here, learn more about the president of the NCF, Erik Carter from Radikal Ungdom!

Where are you from?

I’m originally born in South Africa, but I grew up in Denmark on the island of Lolland. Lolland is often referred to as ‘Udkantsdanmark’, a pretty negative term for something that is in the outskirts of Denmark. When I tell my Norwegian, Swedish or Finnish friends that the provincial Denmark is an 1,5-hour drive from our capital, they laugh in my face. I agree, Denmark is ridiculously small if we lift our faces over the Nordic borders. I currently live in Copenhagen, so my family in Lolland is never far away!

What do you do in your everyday life?

I am currently finishing my bachelor in political science at the University of Copenhagen. I also work for Microsoft in Denmark, where I focus on the educational sector and bringing technology that promotes learning into classrooms. I’m also a scout leader, which I really enjoy because it makes a significant difference for a lot of young people and children when they have people to look up to – on more than a physical level (I’m 191 cm).

Why are you passionate about Nordic politics?

I love Nordic politics because we have such a huge potential for cooperating. We have similar economies, similar languages, similar cultures and a similar approach to our democracies and political systems. This should make cooperation very fruitful and quite easy to facilitate. It’s unfortunately not the case as of today, where the Nordic Council does not play the active role it should. To me, having gone to many sessions so far, it seems like the politicians there only bring Nordic politics up during these sessions, except a few that really champion Nordic politics. To me, Nordic cooperation should be a vital part of everyday life as a politician in all our countries. We need to ask ourselves: “if this could work in Sweden, why would it not work here?”.

What is your favorite Nordic city and why?

I simply love Helsinki in Finland and Trondheim in Norway. I can’t choose. Helsinki has an urban vibe, but it’s really relaxed, people are chilled out and frankly a bit weird in the most fantastic way. Trondheim on the other hand is just next to so much beautiful nature, is really cozy and Norwegian…. That language makes my heart melt!

What is your favorite Nordic word?

Jättekippis. A fusion between the Swedish ‘jätte’ which means huge and the Finnish ‘kippis’ which means cheers – huge cheers. It’s a testament to Nordic cooperation on so many levels. It’s a celebration. Find #jättekippis on Instagram if you don’t know what I mean. It’s not a real word, but YOLO.

Where is the Nordic cooperation in 50 years?

I hope it’s much more integrated than today. Every kid at school knows someone of their own age in another Nordic country, they understand each other when they speak in their native language and they are most of all curious about exploring, living and working in all the Nordic countries. I want every person to feel at home everywhere in the Nordic countries. I think one way of securing that is by treating all Nordic citizens equally in whatever country they live in – which is why I hope that we have a common Nordic citizenship in 50 years, which we have previously called for in the NCF.

Stay tuned for more updates about the board!

Read more about the Nordic citizenship here: http://mittinorden.com/blog/nordisk-medborgerskab

Help us improve our political programme!

In the NCF, we're constantly following the political debates throughout the Nordic countries. We're following the work of the Nordic Council (Nordisk Råd) and the Nordic Youth Council (Ungdomens Nordiska Råd) where we submit resolutions.

Our platform for being active in these debates is our ideology and our political programme. These documents outline our political core and our concrete political ambitions in the Nordic countries across several areas. But they're not perfect. And we always want to become sharper and clearer in the debates where it matters most.

This is where you and your organization come in. During our Top Meeting in october, we will be discussing and revising our political programme.

We'd like to receive your feedback and comments before the 11th September 2015.

The old programme can still be found here. We ask you to provide your comments to the draft version below. You can download it and add documents directly in the file. Send your comments to your organizations member of the board in the NCF. 

We look forward to discussing our political programme with you!

The board of the NCF