REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Icelanders voted in a legislative election on Nov 30 after the collapse of a fraught coalition prompted a snap poll where the economy is a top concern. Battling inflation and high interest rates, the economy, housing and healthcare have dominated the campaign for the 268,000 people eligible to vote. Fears have been raised that some voters may struggle to reach polling stations as heavy snowfall and strong winds have been predicted for some regions.
“I feel we need change,” 48-year-old film producer Grimar Jonsson, said. Mr Jonsson said he hopes to see a change of government and “getting rid of so-called old-fashioned political parties”. Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson’s three-party, left-right coalition resigned in October.
The coalition of Mr Benediktsson’s Independence Party, the Left-Green Movement and the centre-right Progressive Party was divided on a range of issues but broke down over the handling of migrants and asylum seekers. Despite causing the demise of the government, immigration is not a galvanising issue. One in five residents in the country is foreign-born.
“It is very prominent in the public debate amongst politicians, but still it does not seem to be an issue that people are putting at the front of their list of important issues,” Professor Eirikur Bergmann, who teaches at Bifrost University, said. According to a Gallup poll published in early November, only 32 per cent listed immigration as a key issue and only 18 p.