Liberal Party (Iceland)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Liberal Party | |
| Frjálslyndi flokkurinn | |
 |
|
| Chairman | Guðjón Arnar Kristjánsson |
| Vice chairman | Kolbrún Stefánsdóttir |
| Founded | 28 November 1998 |
| Headquarters | Aðalstræti 9 101 Reykjavík |
| Political Ideology | Liberalism, Conservative liberalism, National conservatism, Agrarianism, |
| European Affiliation | None |
| International Affiliation | None |
| Colour(s) | Blue |
| Seats in the Althing |  |
| Website | www.xf.is |
The Liberal Party is an Icelandic centre-right political party. The party supports Iceland's membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but is firmly opposed to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. The party rejects membership of the European Union. The chairman of the Liberal Party is Guðjón Arnar Kristjánsson, MP. In 2006/7, the minor New Force party merged into the Liberal Party, which caused the prominent Liberal Party member Margrét Sverrisdóttir to leave the party and join the Icelandic Movement - Living Land, threatening to split the Liberal Party.[1][2]
The party has, before the 2007 parliament elections, moved from being primarily focused on issues of fishing quotas and small fishing communities toward immigration. It is the only political party in Iceland that supports strict restrictions on immigration, and consequently the party has been accused of xenophobia. The party conducted a members' poll in January 2009 in order to determine its EU stance. The outcome was against EU-accession of Iceland.
In February 2009, two of the Liberal Party's parliamentarians left the party; Jón Magnússon joined the Independence Party and Kristinn H. Gunnarsson joined the Progressive Party.
Contents |
[edit] Ideology
[edit] Fishing quotas
[edit] Privatisation
[edit] Immigration
[edit] European Union
The Liberal Party is against the idea of Iceland joining the European Union. The party's stance was decided in a party members' poll which was conducted in December 2008. The question was: "Should Iceland seek EU-membership?". The results were published in January 2009 with 51.6% being against EU-accession, 34.8% in favour and 9.5% undecided.[3]
[edit] History
The Liberal Party was founded by Sverrir Hermannsson, a former MP of the Independence Party and CEO of Landsbanki, in November 1998.
[edit] Electoral performance
| Election | Number of votes for Liberal | Share of votes | Seats | Outcome of election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 6.919 | 4.2% | 2 | Independence Victory |
| 2003 | 13,523 | 7.4% | 4 | Independence Victory |
| 2007 | 13,233 | 7.26% | 4 | Independence Victory |
| 2009 | 4,148 | 2.2% | 0 | Alliance Victory |
[edit] See also
- Politics of Iceland
- Liberalism and centrism in Iceland
- Liberalism
- Liberal democracy
- Contributions to liberal theory
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=260125
- ^ http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=260428
- ^ "Liberal Party rejects EU-membership" (in Icelandic). 14 January 2009. http://xf.is/frettir/nr/82359/. Retrieved on 25 January 2009.
[edit] External links
- Official website (English)
- Official website (Icelandic)
|
|||||||||||
 |
This Iceland-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
