People's Front of Iceland

People's Front
Alþýðufylkingin
ChairpersonÞorvaldur Þorvaldsson [1]
Vice-chairpersonVésteinn Valgarðsson
Founded13 January 2013 (announced)[1]
18 Feb 2013 (founded)[2]
HeadquartersLeifsgata 22, 101 Reykjavík
IdeologyAnti-capitalism[3]
Environmentalism[4][5]
Hard Euroscepticism[4][6]
Pacifism[7]
Political positionLeft-wing to far-left
ColoursRed
Seats in Parliament
0 / 63
Election symbol
R
Website
www.althydufylkingin.is

People's Front of Iceland (Icelandic: Alþýðufylkingin, PFI[4]) is an anti-capitalist[3] political party in Iceland founded on 18 February 2013, seeking to "... free the people from the yoke of market capitalism".[8] It is "unconditionally opposed" to Iceland's accession to both the European Union[9] and NATO, believing them to be "imperialist" organisations.[4] The party founder, Þorvaldur Þorvaldsson (tl. Thorvaldur), is a self-declared communist.[10]

History

I must admit that I, personally, am somewhat responsible for the crisis. Long before it hit us, I knew as a socialist that capitalism was unsustainable and that it has a crisis built into it. This I knew, but I did not do all I possibly could have done to stage a revolution. This is my responsibility and it follows that I will not be co-dependent with capitalism, but will do my utmost to replace it with a society of equality and social justice.

Vésteinn Valgarðsson[11]

The People's Front of Iceland originated in Reykjavík. Party founder Þorvaldur Þorvaldsson organised poetry readings and other informal meetings which were attended by workers, radicalised in the aftermath of the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis.

They successfully applied for the list letter R to contest the 2013 Icelandic parliamentary election, marking their first foray into electoral politics, and subsequently submitted an official candidate list on 12 April 2013.[12] In the 2013 election they chose to only run candidates in the Reykjavík North and Reykjavík South constituencies.[13][14]

In the spring of 2014, they ran in the Reykjavik city council elections and got 219 votes but did not get a seat on the council.

In the autumn of 2016, they ran for Althing elections again, in five constituencies (out of six) and got 575 votes, or 0.3%.

Electoral results

Alþingi
Election year # of
overall votes 		% of
overall vote 		# of
overall seats won 		±
2013 118 0.06
0 / 63
 ±0
2016 575 0.30
0 / 63
 ±0
2017 375 0.20
0 / 63
 ±0
Reykjavík City Council
Election year # of
overall votes 		% of
overall vote 		# of
overall seats won 		±
2014 219 0.4
0 / 15
 ±0

References

  1. ^ a b Ný stjórnmálasamtök
  2. ^ "People's Front participates in the election throughout the country" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Félagsvæðing fjármálastarfseminnar". Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d "Alþýðufylkingin | Program of the People's Front of Iceland (in English)". Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  5. ^ Þorvaldur stofnar Alþýðufylkinguna Archived 16 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Ályktun framhaldstofnfundar Alþýðufylkingarinnar 16.2. 2013 um ESB". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  7. ^ "Ályktun framhaldsstofnfundar Alþýðufylkingarinnar 16.2. 2013 um friðarmál". Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Almenn ályktun framhaldsstofnfundar Alþýðufylkingarinnar 16. febrúar 2013". Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  9. ^ Alþýðufylkingin sækir um listabókstaf
  10. ^ "Capitalist class shall not be allowed to exploit people" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013. segist vera kommúnisti
  11. ^ The Reykjavík Grapevine Election Guide 2013, The Reykjavík Grapevine, April 5, 2013
  12. ^ "Five new list letters" (in Icelandic). Innanríkisráðuneytið (Ministry of Interior). 8 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  13. ^ "All lists of candidates submitted" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  14. ^ "People's Front of Iceland lists for the 27 April 2013 election". People's Front of Iceland central committee. 12 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2013.