In an interview with the local radio station Bylgjan on Sunday morning the former Prime Minister of Iceland Davíð Oddsson announced he would be running for President in the June election. Along with sitting president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Davíð is one of the most influential politicians of the past few decades. Political analysts agree the announcement has completely transformed the race, making it more political and intense. Ólafur Ragnar has suggested the entry of Davíð Oddsson into the race might force him to re-consider his decision to run for a sixth term in light of the announcement.
Read more: New poll shows Ólafur Ragnar does not have re-election sewed up yet: nearly 30% undecided
While Davíð had been named as a possible candidate for the presidency for several months, his announcement came as a surprise to most commentators. Eiríkur Bergmann, professor at the University of Bifröst told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that Davíð had effectively thrown a bomb into the election. Grétar Eyþórsson, a political scientist and professor at the University of Akureyri told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the contest would likely become more political, and possibly more intense as Davíð and Ólafur Ragnar have been bitter rivals in politics since the 1980s. A personal contest between these two aging giants of Icelandic political history is likely to become the focus of attention.
Several commentators have also noted that the election is now likely to be cast as a choice between the old and the new, with voters having a choice between the two elder statesmen continuing their decades long rivalry, and two younger candidates, environmental activist and author Andri Snær Magnason and Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, a professor of History at the University of Iceland. Polls conducted prior to the entry of Davíð into the race had shown Guðni Th. running neck-to-neck with Ólafur Ragnar.
Read more: History professor who hasn’t entered the race running neck-to-neck with Ólafur Ragnar in new poll
Grétar Þór also told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that he believed Davíð was more likely to take votes from Ólafur Ragnar than other candidates, although some voters who had planned to vote for Guðni might now switch their support to Davíð. Others argued the effect would be more decisive. Commentator Egill Helgason argued Davíð’s entry into the race had effectively ensured the victory of Guðni who would stand out as a candidate of optimism and youth, unencumbered with political baggage and decades of political rancor surrounding the two elder statesmen.
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who has been under heavy fire recently for revelations that his wife, Dorrit Moussaieff has ties to off shore companies in tax-havens, indicated in an interview on a Sunday TV talk show that he might reconsider his decision to run. Asked whether his name would be on the ballot in June, now that Davíð Oddsson had entered the Ólafur refused to give a straight yes or no answer, instead saying he was thinking about the situation which had now come up.
Birgir Guðmundsson, a political scientist at the University of Akureyri told RÚV the answers Ólafur had given showed he was seriously considering pulling out of the race. In fact, he expected Ólafur Ragnar would withdraw from the race within days.
Read more: Dorrit Moussaieff, wife of the president of Iceland owns two off-shore companies in tax havens
Davíð Oddsson was the Prime Minister of Iceland from 1991 to 2004. During that time he presided over a radical program of economic liberalization of the Icelandic economy, lifting financial regulations and privatizing state owned banks which laid the foundation for the dramatic growth of the Icelandic financial system. This financial miracle, as it was called, only ended with the collapse of the banks in 2008. Davíð’s role in the lead up to the crash has remained a source of controversy, with Time Magazine naming him one of the 25 people to blame for the 2008 financial crash.
In an interview with the local radio station Bylgjan on Sunday morning the former Prime Minister of Iceland Davíð Oddsson announced he would be running for President in the June election. Along with sitting president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Davíð is one of the most influential politicians of the past few decades. Political analysts agree the announcement has completely transformed the race, making it more political and intense. Ólafur Ragnar has suggested the entry of Davíð Oddsson into the race might force him to re-consider his decision to run for a sixth term in light of the announcement.
Read more: New poll shows Ólafur Ragnar does not have re-election sewed up yet: nearly 30% undecided
While Davíð had been named as a possible candidate for the presidency for several months, his announcement came as a surprise to most commentators. Eiríkur Bergmann, professor at the University of Bifröst told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that Davíð had effectively thrown a bomb into the election. Grétar Eyþórsson, a political scientist and professor at the University of Akureyri told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the contest would likely become more political, and possibly more intense as Davíð and Ólafur Ragnar have been bitter rivals in politics since the 1980s. A personal contest between these two aging giants of Icelandic political history is likely to become the focus of attention.
Several commentators have also noted that the election is now likely to be cast as a choice between the old and the new, with voters having a choice between the two elder statesmen continuing their decades long rivalry, and two younger candidates, environmental activist and author Andri Snær Magnason and Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, a professor of History at the University of Iceland. Polls conducted prior to the entry of Davíð into the race had shown Guðni Th. running neck-to-neck with Ólafur Ragnar.
Read more: History professor who hasn’t entered the race running neck-to-neck with Ólafur Ragnar in new poll
Grétar Þór also told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that he believed Davíð was more likely to take votes from Ólafur Ragnar than other candidates, although some voters who had planned to vote for Guðni might now switch their support to Davíð. Others argued the effect would be more decisive. Commentator Egill Helgason argued Davíð’s entry into the race had effectively ensured the victory of Guðni who would stand out as a candidate of optimism and youth, unencumbered with political baggage and decades of political rancor surrounding the two elder statesmen.
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who has been under heavy fire recently for revelations that his wife, Dorrit Moussaieff has ties to off shore companies in tax-havens, indicated in an interview on a Sunday TV talk show that he might reconsider his decision to run. Asked whether his name would be on the ballot in June, now that Davíð Oddsson had entered the Ólafur refused to give a straight yes or no answer, instead saying he was thinking about the situation which had now come up.
Birgir Guðmundsson, a political scientist at the University of Akureyri told RÚV the answers Ólafur had given showed he was seriously considering pulling out of the race. In fact, he expected Ólafur Ragnar would withdraw from the race within days.
Read more: Dorrit Moussaieff, wife of the president of Iceland owns two off-shore companies in tax havens
Davíð Oddsson was the Prime Minister of Iceland from 1991 to 2004. During that time he presided over a radical program of economic liberalization of the Icelandic economy, lifting financial regulations and privatizing state owned banks which laid the foundation for the dramatic growth of the Icelandic financial system. This financial miracle, as it was called, only ended with the collapse of the banks in 2008. Davíð’s role in the lead up to the crash has remained a source of controversy, with Time Magazine naming him one of the 25 people to blame for the 2008 financial crash.
