History: Iceland became the first country in Europe to elect more women than men to Parliament

Iceland became the first country in Europe to elect more women than men to parliament, after the results of this Sunday in a legislative series marked by the weakened position of the prime minister, in an outgoing coalition still in the majority.

Of the 63 seats in the Althing (Parliament), 33 will be occupied by women, which represents the 52.3% of the hemicycle, after Saturday’s elections in this country 370,000 inhabitants.

This is a historic result, since no country in Europe had crossed the symbolic 50% mark, with Sweden so far in the first place with the 47% of women deputies, according to the World Bank.

“I am 85 years old, I have waited all my life for women to be in the majority (…) and I am really very happy”, he told AFP Erdna, inhabitant of Reykjavik, capital of this Nordic country.

Despite the fact that several parties reserve a minimum proportion of women among their own candidates, there is no law imposing a quota on legislatures in Iceland, according to the democratic organization International Idea.

Iceland is often at the forefront of the cause of women and It topped the World Economic Forum’s rankings for gender equality for 12 consecutive years.

“I am very happy that women have passed 50% of the seats, I think this is the normal course of what has been happening in Iceland for a century”, he underlined Thora Kolbeinnsdottir, bookseller and social worker.

Paradoxically, despite this unprecedented situation, it was one woman who suffered the most from these elections: the Prime Minister, Katrin Jakobsdottir, whose Left-Green Movement party lost three seats and won the 12.6% of the vote behind his two current right-wing allies.

Joy

The big winner is the Progress Party (center-right), who won 13 seats, five more than in the last legislative elections in 2017, with 17.3% of the vote.

Joy reigned Saturday in this formation, which returns “to the front of the political scene”, according to their leader, Sigurour Ingi Jóhannsson.

The Independence party (conservative) of the former prime minister Bjarni Benediktsson However, it remains the main force in the country, with 24.4% of the vote, so it retains its 16 seats.

With a total of 37 deputies, the three allied parties consolidate their majority, but the right is in a strong position, with options to form a coalition with another ideologically closer partner like the centrists Reform (five places), center (three) or even the Popular festival (six).

Although the future of the coalition remains uncertain, Iceland is moving away from a political blockade scenario as announced by the polls.

Since the spectacular collapse of Icelandic banks in 2008, never has an island government retained its majority. We have to go back to 2003 to find a precedent.

On the other hand, the weakening of the Prime Minister raises the question of her future in Stjornarradid, seat of government.

“Given the decline we are seeing, the Green Left may need to reassess its position in government.”Explain Eva nnudóttir, professor of political science at the University of Iceland.

Since 2017, Jakobsdottir introduced the most progressive taxes, invest in social housing and paternity leave.

His management of covid-19, with only 33 deaths, has been hailed. But this left-wing ecologist in power also had to give up goals to save her coalition, such as her promise to create a national park in the center of the country.

This alliance gave Iceland four years of stability after a decade of crisis.

Between 2007 and 2017, Icelanders had to go to the polls five times to elect their deputies in a context of mistrust of the political class and repeated scandals.

(With information from AFP)

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