Rainbow (Iceland)

Rainbow (Icelandic: Regnboginn) is a Eurosceptic and socialist political party in Iceland, founded in March 2013 by former MP Bjarni Harðarson, who had been elected for the Progressive Party, and current MPs Jón Bjarnason and Atli Gíslason, both dissidents from the Left-Green Movement (VG). The party intends to exist only to contest the 2013 Icelandic parliamentary election.[3]

Rainbow

Regnboginn
FoundedMarch 2013
IdeologyEnvironmentalism[1][2]
Euroscepticism[1][2][3][4]
Socialism[1][2][3]
Political positionLeft-wing
ColoursRed, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange
Seats in Parliament
0 / 63
Website
regnboginn.is

They successfully applied for the list letter J to contest the 2013 parliamentary election,[5][6] and submitted an official candidate list on 12 April 2013.[7]

History

In 2012, the year prior to the formation of the new party, Bjarnason and Gíslason left VG to sit as independents. On 16 March 2013, Thorstein Bergsson, a candidate for the Left-Green Movement, announced he was leaving the party and joining Rainbow, saying he was disappointed by the party's position on the EU.[8] The party subsequently announced Bergsson would have the number two spot on the party's list in the Northeast constituency.[8]

Ideology

The party seeks to address what they call "the most pending issue in Icelandic society today: the imminent accession to the European Union."[3] It is a Eurosceptic party, with Left-Green MPs Jón Bjarnason and Atli Gíslason having left their previous party over disagreements regarding VG's policy towards NATO and the European Union.[1] On other issues, they emphasise the need for equal pay for women, increasing the child benefit, expanding preventive healthcare, and breaking up large corporations.[2][4] The party supports a mixed economy, dominated by the public sector and complemented by local private sector businesses.[4]

Electoral results
Alþingi
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 ±
2013 2,021 1.07
0 / 63

References
  1. "Atla Gíslason and Bjarni Harðarson prepare to run the election with a new party" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  2. "Rainbow presents program" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  3. The Reykjavík Grapevine Election Guide 2013, The Reykjavík Grapevine, April 5, 2013
  4. "Rainbow rejects liberalism" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  5. "Bjarni Harðarson leads the list in the South constituency" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  6. "Thorstein Bergsson leading the Rainbow candidate list in Northeast" (in Icelandic). Smugan. 16 March 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  7. "All lists of candidates submitted" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  8. "Thorstein Bergsson leaves VG" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
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