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An unusual crowd was gathered tonight in solidarity, people from all over the world in the most unprecedented way, in one place to watch with great hope the Icelandic election of 2013 . That place was the Internet. We were gathered as one community to watch a small yet powerful new political party make history - the Pirate Party of Iceland.
Reykjavik, Iceland - April 25th -- Parliamentary elections are coming up in Iceland. The elections will be held on Saturday, April 27th. Recent polls show that the likely winners are The Independence Party and the Progressive Party, they have around 25% support each. Because of the 5% election threshold only around 40 - 45% support is needed to get a majority in parliament. There are 15 parties running in the elections.
In 2008, Iceland had the third largest banking and economic crash in recorded history. They responded by using the internet to create a new constitution, written by the people and for the people, reinventing the definition of self governance. All of this happened under a cloak of media secrecy in this part of the world. We would not want to give Americans any ideas, after all, about fighting for freedom from tyranny and taxation without representation.
As a journalist I do not usually write in first person, especially when going to interview Birgitta Jonsdottir; a member of Icelandic Parliament, an Artist, a member of the Pirate Party, and an integral member of Wikileaks. But interviewing Birgitta even though we had not met before, was like sitting down with a close girlfriend and fellow activist for a chat.
Iceland has been front and center in world news for the last five years. The country with the oldest seated Parliament in Europe has survived, albeit battered and bruised, the third largest banking and economic collapse in recorded history. They used the power of the internet in the most innovative and creative way the world has ever seen; by creating a crowd sourced constitution, written online by the people and for the people.
It is fairly obvious which parties will form the next government in Iceland. The Independence Party and the Progressive Party will form a coalition government following the general elections on April 27th, or in one week. It is unlikely that any other two party government can be formed, and a three party coalition government is highly unlikely.
The chairman of the Progressive Party has promised to write down 20% of price indexed household mortgages in Iceland. He will use money from the foreign claim holders of the defaulted Icelandic banks, by "force" (taxation etc.) if necessary.
Political campaigns have started in Iceland, and the first TV debate between the chairmen of the main parties took place yesterday. Unusually many parties are running for parliament, they might be around 15 in total, and there seems to be a lot of disagreement between voters. A party that has promised a 20% write off of household mortgages, using money from foreign claim holders of the defaulted banks, has been gaining a lot of popularity and is now the largest party in Iceland.
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