It was the Gothenburg Post that famously remarked on Iceland’s “democracy deficit”. I can say that this all completely unfounded. I have finally been granted the right to vote in an Icelandic election, not the Alþingi, City Council or Presidential ones, but one of far greater significance, What Colour to Paint the Stairway 2004. The two candidates already fielded are: 94534/6530/wt Cream and 85746/8465/ew Beige. I have attempted to field two of my own candidates, 87079/5632/fg Red and 57832/9341/hw Green, who if elected would form an alliance on the ‘Brightening Things Up’ and ‘It’ll Make a Nice Change’ platform. These two candidates have already been disqualified on the grounds of ‘rocking the boat’ and ‘you’re just being stupid’. In the end I was unable to cast my ballot due to a sudden case of voter apathy, but in the end Cream was declared the winner. Disbelief was voiced at the failure of Beige to be elected, and in a hastily convened late night crisis meeting the Beige candidate was duly announced the new winner. The contract for the actual painting was awarded to a company, who, although submitting a bid almost double that of all the other tenders, did have the benefit of being owned by the brother of one of the residents. I am now planning to field another one of my candidates in the forthcoming Christmas Decorations – Blinking or Non-blinking Lights Election 2004 and the Do We Need a Bigger Flagpole 2005.
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