Informal negotiations to form a new coalition government have started in Iceland. Political pundits agree that the parties most likely to form a new government are the right wing conservative Independence Party, the newly founded liberal centrist party Restoration and the social democratic centrist party Bright Future.
Read more: The government concedes election defeat — With no clear winner Iceland faces a political limbo
With 32 of 63 seats in the parliament it would be the smallest possible majority.
The chairman of the Bright Future is the flamboyant Óttarr Proppé. Before he was elected to parliament he was a Reykjavík councilman and a political ally of former mayor, comedian and writer Jón Gnarr. But before diving into politics he was best known as the singer and front man of punk rock band Ham, which is still active and is among Iceland’s most loved and respected bands.
Óttarr is popular across political lines, always oozing calm and reason even when things have being going off the rails in the parliament.
If the parties manage to reach an agreement, Óttarr will most surely become a minister in the new government. We at Iceland Insider think he would be a prime candidate for the Ministry of the Interior.
Two members of Ham have carved out careers in politics as bass player S. Björn Blöndal is a Reykjavík City councilman, leading the same party in City Hall.
Below you can watch and listen to the band perform at the Iceland Airwaves music festival in 2014. Ham performed live at the great Kex Hostel in Reykjavík and, luckily for us, Seattle radio station KEXP-FM was there. The concert was recorded on November 7th.
Informal negotiations to form a new coalition government have started in Iceland. Political pundits agree that the parties most likely to form a new government are the right wing conservative Independence Party, the newly founded liberal centrist party Restoration and the social democratic centrist party Bright Future.
Read more: The government concedes election defeat — With no clear winner Iceland faces a political limbo
With 32 of 63 seats in the parliament it would be the smallest possible majority.
The chairman of the Bright Future is the flamboyant Óttarr Proppé. Before he was elected to parliament he was a Reykjavík councilman and a political ally of former mayor, comedian and writer Jón Gnarr. But before diving into politics he was best known as the singer and front man of punk rock band Ham, which is still active and is among Iceland’s most loved and respected bands.
Óttarr is popular across political lines, always oozing calm and reason even when things have being going off the rails in the parliament.
If the parties manage to reach an agreement, Óttarr will most surely become a minister in the new government. We at Iceland Insider think he would be a prime candidate for the Ministry of the Interior.
Two members of Ham have carved out careers in politics as bass player S. Björn Blöndal is a Reykjavík City councilman, leading the same party in City Hall.
Below you can watch and listen to the band perform at the Iceland Airwaves music festival in 2014. Ham performed live at the great Kex Hostel in Reykjavík and, luckily for us, Seattle radio station KEXP-FM was there. The concert was recorded on November 7th.
