People's Party (Iceland) Explained

The People's Party (is|Flokkur fólksins) is an Icelandic political party, which was founded in 2016 by Inga Sæland. The party defines itself as "based on a message of love", its articles of association stating its goals as "[fighting] with thought, word and will for Icelanders who have suffered injustices, differences, lawlessness and poverty."^[2]

In the 2021 Icelandic parliamentary election, the party received 8.8% of the votes and got six seats in the Althing.

Policies

In the 2021 parliamentary election, the party's electoral priorities were:

Welfare and the fight against poverty

• The minimum subsistence level will be ISK 350,000, tax- and deduction-free.
• Introduce a new social security system that ensures a minimum subsistence level and the abolition of deduction of state support because of income. Do not let interactive austerity rules lock people in a poverty trap.

The disabled

• Allow all disabled people who can to try their skills in the labor market for two years without any deduction in state support and without their disability being reassessed.
• Encourage the individual to be self-sufficient and never punish them or reduce the income of those who want and can save themselves in some way.
• All aids equipment should be exempt from VAT.
• Ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Senior citizens

• Increase the free income limit for old-age pensions of the state's pension income from ISK 25,000 up to ISK 100,000.
• Abolish deductions to the state's old-age pensions due to employment income.
• Ensure the safety of the elderly in residential and nursing accommodations.

Pension funds

• Ensure increased democracy and transparency in pension funds.
• Ensure that pension rights are inherited upon death.

Health care

• Fully secure the funding of the health care system.
• Eliminate waiting lists for necessary health care.
• Ensure that people born with blemishes receive reimbursement for medical procedures from the Icelandic health insurance.
• Never accept that children have to wait for urgent medical attention.

Housing market

• Abolish inflation indexing of mortgages.
• Enable people to refinance inflation-indexed loans with non-indexed loans without being subject to a credit rating and payment assessment.
• Abolish the high prepayment fees on loan agreements that the Housing Financing Fund made at the time.
• Fight against housing shortages by creating incentives for increased construction of new housing.

Fisheries

• Full price for access to the marine resource and the fishing quota.
• A new fishery policy based on the fishing grounds around Iceland being the common property of the nation and not private property.
• Ensure that the inhabitants of coastal villages enjoy an increased right to utilize marine resources with a positive effect on the fishing grounds across the country.
• Boost coastal fishing by making handline fishing free.
• The nation should receive full price for access to its resources.
• Enactment of a provision on national ownership of natural resources in the constitution.

Student loans

• Give students freedom to earn extra income without cuts in students loans.

Environment and climate change

• The People's Party views man-made climate change as a grave global environmental problem.
• Iceland should take an active part in the fight against climate change through international co-operation.
• Wetland restoration, the electrification of the car fleet, environmentally friendly energy for ships, the production of renewable energy and increased forestry are the countermeasures Iceland should emphasize.
• Iceland should take responsibility in the fight against climate change without environmental protection measures affecting the public who have little financial means.
• Against green taxes that increase inequality and poverty. Those who pollute the most should pay the most.
• Iceland's clean energy sources should be wisely used to reduce pollution, while at the same time considering nature conservation.

The highlands

• Oppose restrictions on the public freedom of movement within the country to enjoy their own nature. The Highlands of Iceland cannot be institutionalized in the form of a national park with associated ministerial powers at the expense of public access. We trust the locals in the surrounding municipalities to take care of the Highlands.
• It is extremely important that the public has easy access to the refreshing paradise of the Highlands free of charge. Not everyone can afford to travel abroad. Icelanders have enjoyed it for a long time, for example within the framework of outdoor clubs, and have generally been successful. We trust these people to enjoy the highlands, and to respect and protect them at the same time.

Funding of campaign promises

• Abolish the pension fund exemption to withhold taxes upon deposit to the pension funds. Thus, the cash payment will be taken immediately upon deposit, but not when the funds are paid out as currently. To give the Treasury "tens of billions of dollars annually" in increased revenues without compromising the people's pension rights.
• Transfer the personal tax credit from the rich to the poorer.
• Full price will be charged for access to marine resources.
• Re-implementation of the bank tax, as there is no real competition as the banks' profits prove.
• Clean up the system and reduce any unnecessary government spending.

Controversies and expulsions

At the end of November 2018, the party expelled two of its parliamentarians, Karl Gauti Hjaltason and Ólafur Ísleifsson,^[3] after they met with members of the Centre Party and did not object to derogatory remarks made about People's Party leader Inga Sæland.^[4]

Electoral results

Parliament

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
2016	6,707	3.5		0	8th
2017	13,502	6.9		4	7th
2021	17,672	8.9		2	5th
2024	29,288	13.8		4	4th

External links

• People's Party

Notes and References

1. Web site: Flokkur fólksins sagður opinn fyrir stjórn frá miðju til vinstri . Þorður Snær . Júlíusson. 12 November 2017 . kjarninn.is . 27 October 2024 . Icelandic.
2. Web site: The People's Party articles of association . Icelandic.
3. Web site: Karl Gauti og Ólafur reknir úr Flokki fólksins . Kolbeinn Tumi . Daðason . Sunna Kristín . Hilmarsdóttir . November 30, 2018 . visir.is . November 30, 2018 . Icelandic.
4. Web site: Inga hefur ekkert heyrt í Ólafi eða Karli Gauta . Atli . Ísleifsson . November 30, 2018 . visir.is . November 30, 2018 . Icelandic.