Minister of infrastructure Svandís Svavarsdóttir was elected chairperson of the Left-Green Movement at a party conference yesterday. Minister of social affairs and labour Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson was re-elected vice-chairperson after serving as interim leader since spring, Vísir reports.
The party has lost a lot of support after two terms in a government coalition with the conservative Independence Party and the centrist Progressive Party. Recent polls show that the Left-Green Movement could lose all its seats in Alþingi, Iceland’s Parliament, with elections coming up next year.
Balancing the scales
In her first speech as chairperson, Svandís emphasised her party’s importance as a counter-balance against the parties on the right of the political spectrum, arguing that the Left-Greens would never agree to cutbacks in public services or the privatisation of the health care system.
“Individualism and capitalism break us apart rather than bring us together,” Svandís said. “They create negative comparisons, rivalries and measurements of all things. See everything as a chance to profit and opportunities to make a killing. And some political parties use this development purposefully to gain followers.”
Environmental cause
Svandís went on to discuss the party’s environmental policies. “Humans are a part of the Earth’s ecological systems and when they’re threatened, the conditions for human society fail,” she said. “Climate policies and environmental protection are the basis for prosperity and society for us who are now alive and for future generations.”
She went on to say that the Left-Green Movement needed to be a strong voice in Icelandic politics and that many things would have gone worse over the last two terms if the party hadn’t been a part of the government coalition. “Our task is to secure the strength of the Left-Green Movement as a social force in Icelandic politics,” she said.
