Young Independents

Young Independents
Ungir sjálfstæðismenn
PresidentViktor Pétur Finnsson
Founded27 June 1930[1]
HeadquartersHáaleitisbraut 1
105 Reykjavík
IdeologyLiberal conservatism[2]
Libertarianism[3]
Euroscepticism[4]
Mother partyIndependence Party
International affiliationInternational Young Democrat Union
European affiliationDemocrat Youth Community of Europe
European Young Conservatives
Nordic affiliationNordic Young Conservative Union (NUU)
Websitewww.sus.is

Young Independents (Icelandic: Ungir sjálfstæðismenn), abbreviated to SUS, is the youth wing of the Independence Party of Iceland.

Young Independents was founded at Þingvellir on 27 June 1930:[1] the year after the Independence Party itself. Its current chairman is Viktor Pétur Finnsson, who was elected on 17 September 2023.

It is liberally conservative, like its mother party, but often expresses more classical liberal views.[5] The party can conduct its own policy and campaigns. In 2011, it criticised capital controls,[6] subsidies to the Symphony Orchestra,[7] and the application for EU membership.[8] In February 2011, it ran an advert in Morgunblaðið that urged Independence Party MPs to vote against the government paying foreign liabilities accrued by Icesave.[9] SUS put forward an alternative budget in 2010, and criticised Independence Party MPs for following convention by not voting against the government's budget.[10]

Its largest branch is its Reykjavík branch, Heimdallur.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b "SUS heldur upp á 75 ára afmæli". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 27 June 2005. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  2. ^ Agust Thor Arnason (2006). "The European Union Seen From the Top – A View of an Inside-Outsider". In Joakim Nergelius (ed.). Nordic and Other European Constitutional Traditions. BRILL. p. 34. ISBN 978-90-474-0978-6.
  3. ^ Siaroff, Alan, The Effects of Differing Electoral Systems on Party Politics, Government Formation and Voter Turnout, p. 69
  4. ^ Steed, Michael (1988). "Identifying Liberal Parties". In Kirchner, Emil Joseph (ed.). Liberal Parties in Western Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 376–95. ISBN 978-0-521-32394-9.
  5. ^ "Vona að mitt framboð verði hvatning fyrir aðrar konur". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 16 September 1997. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Fagna erlendri fjárfestingu". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 12 September 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  7. ^ "SUS fagnar mögulegu verkfalli Sinfóníunnar". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 5 October 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Vilja að þingmenn íhugi stöðu sína". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 26 August 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  9. ^ "Skora á þingmenn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 16 February 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  10. ^ "SUS svekkt út í þingmenn Sjálfstæðisflokksins". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 17 December 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2011.