Icelandic Socialist Party

Political party in Iceland

Politics of Iceland
Political parties
Elections

The Icelandic Socialist Party (Icelandic: Sósíalistaflokkur Íslands; SFÍ) is a socialist political party in Iceland, which was founded on International Workers' Day (1 May) in 2017.

History

According to Gunnar Smári the party already had 1,400 members at its foundation. At the beginning of May, a temporary board was selected at a meeting to prepare a "Socialist Congress" in the autumn of 2017.^[6] Prior to the Congress the party selected four committees among its members by sortition, responsible for healthcare, housing, social welfare, and democratization of society.^[7]

The party did not contest the 2017 Althing elections, as it declared itself to be in a "build-up phase", but ran lists in Reykjavík and Kópavogur municipalities in the municipal elections on 26 May 2018.^[8] In Reykjavík, they received one of 23 seats with 6.4% of the vote.^[9]

Ideology and policies

The architect behind the party is the editor and author Gunnar Smári, who at the launching of the party declared that it should be "an advocate for wage earners and all those who are poor, invisible and powerless. The opponents of the Icelandic Socialist Party are the rich and those who serve their interests".^[10]

Main points

According to the party’s website, the party’s main points in the party platform are:^[11]

"Humane living conditions" with regard to wages, unemployment benefits, pensions and student loans.
Access to secure and free housing.
A free healthcare system with no additional payments, as well as free access to education for all levels of education.
Shorter working hours.
A reform of the tax system with higher taxes for the wealthy and lower taxes for wage earners.

Housing

The party considers access to affordable housing to be a fundamental right, and calls for immediate actions to tackle the problems facing the Icelandic housing market.^[12] Those actions include:

The construction of 4000 apartments every year for the next three years.
The construction of 30 thousand public apartments in the next ten years.
The deprivatization of the Icelandic housing market.
The establishment of a new housing fund intended to fund construction of apartments for public housing associations.
To guarantee that public housing associations make up at least 25% of the housing market in 20 years.
To implement a ceiling on the maximum price for rent.
To guarantee that people don’t have to put more than a fourth of their income towards rent.
To put severe restrictions on short-term rental companies such as Airbnb.
To make lodging houses for homeless people available during the daytime as well.
To guarantee all students access to free student accommodation.
To guarantee access to free housing for the elderly and the disabled.

Healthcare

The party’s healthcare policies include:^[13]

That Iceland have free public healthcare.
To work against the privatization of the Icelandic healthcare system.
To strengthen the Icelandic healthcare system.
The ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
That user-directed personal assistance be used to help people with disabilities.
That the June 2017 UN report on mental health be respected.
Increase funding for hospitals.
Lowering the prices for medication and to monitor the quality of medicines that are sold.
To strengthen mental health services.
To establish an ombudsman office for patients.
To guarantee access to rehabilitation for the chronically ill.
That the elderly are guaranteed access to health services according to their needs.
To improve the work environment for healthcare workers.

Democracy

The party’s policies towards democracy include:^[14]

That equality is the cornerstone of democracy.
To guarantee a fair voting system for all.
That the results of elections be always respected.
That the new constitution of Iceland proposed during the 2010–2013 Icelandic constitutional reform be taken into effect.
That democratic concepts be part of fundamental education.
To guarantee access to accurate and reliable information to the public.
To implement the democratization of labour unions and pension funds.
To guarantee funding for public associations.
To ensure that Iceland’s natural resources are owned by the public.
To implement workplace democracy.

Mutual funds

The party’s policies on mutual funds include:^[15]

To combine the fragmented systems of benefits and pensions into one general insurance system so that everyone can be guaranteed a decent life.
To simplify the insurance system.
To replace student loans with scholarships.
To increase tax investigations and surveillance over large corporations and rich individuals.
That the tax system be used as an equalization tool.
To increase benefits for parents.
To abolish fees for public services.
That the profits from natural resources be nationalized.

Parliamentary elections

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
2021	8,181	4.1	0 / 63	0	9th	Extra-parliamentary

Reykjavík City Council elections

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
2018	Sanna Magdalena Mörtudóttir	3,758	6.4	1 / 23	New	5th	Opposition
2022	Sanna Magdalena Mörtudóttir	4,618	7.7	2 / 23	1	5th	Opposition

References

^ "Fundargerð 12.7.21" (PDF). sosialistaflokkurinn.is. 12 July 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
^ "Stefnuyfirlýsing Meistaradeildar Sósíalista". sosialistaflokkurinn.is. 29 August 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2021). "Iceland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Wahlcheck: Das wollen Islands Parteien". Deutsch-Isländische Gesellschaft Bremerhaven/Bremen. 11 September 2019. Archived from the original on 15 October 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
^ "Vindum ofan af nýfrjálshyggjunni". sosialistaflokkurinn.is. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
^ "Sósíalistaflokkur Íslands stofnaður". RÚV. 1 May 2017. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
^ "Socialists make policy by sortition". sosialistaflokkurinn.is. 3 July 2017. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
^ "Sósíalistaflokkurinn birtir framboðslista fyrir Reykjavík og Kópavog". Vísir.is. 1 May 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
^ "Reykjavik Elections: Conservatives Come Out Ahead, Socialist Wins Seat". The Reykjavík Grapevine. 27 May 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
^ "Gunnar Smári stofnar Sósíalistaflokk Íslands". RÚV. 11 April 2017. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
^ "Fyrstu baráttumál". Sósíalistaflokkur Íslands. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ "Húsnæðismál". Sósíalistaflokkur Íslands. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ "Heilbrigðismál". Sósíalistaflokkur Íslands. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
^ "Lýðræðismál". Sósíalistaflokkur Íslands. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
^ "Sameiginlegir sjóðir". Sósíalistaflokkur Íslands. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2024.