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Iceland: Political Developments and Data in 2021

First Government Survival since the Financial Crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Ólafur Th Hardarson  and
Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson
Ólafur Th Hardarson
Affiliation:
University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson
Affiliation:
University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
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Abstract

Icelandic politics in 2021 were strongly dominated by two features: the ongoing struggle with Covid-19 and the parliamentary election which took place on 25 September. Covid-19 was in many ways the primary task of government throughout the year and, while criticism of various restrictions of personal freedoms grew louder as the year wore on, the situation remained relatively calm compared to most other countries. The parliamentary election was to a certain extent overshadowed by the pandemic crisis and the opposition parties in particular had a difficult time of finding a clear voice in a situation where expert rule was the norm and by far the most prominent part of the government agenda. After four years in power, the three-way coalition of the Left-Greens, Independence Party and Progressive Party was re-elected in September, signalling a continuation of the partial return to stability which its formation in 2017 had signalled.

Information

Type
Original Articles
Information
Political Data Yearbook , Volume 61 , Issue 1 , December 2022 , pp. 214 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © 2022 European Consortium for Political Research

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