At a press conference held atop a block apartment building in the working class neighborhood of Breiðholt, representatives from the Best Party and the Social Democrats have just announced that Best Party chairman Jón Gnarr will be the next mayor of Reykjavík. Social Democrat city councilman Dagur B. Eggertsson will be chairman of city council. This means a possible partnership with the Independence Party is officially off the table.
While it was stressed that the two parties are still working out their plan for the city, they also said that no special issues of concern over differences of opinion have yet come up.
The Best Party – formed last December as a means of parodizing Icelandic city politics – managed to transform itself into a serious campaign that saw a dramatic upswing of support in the weeks leading up to the 29 May election. In the end, they secured six of city council’s 15 seats.
While the Independence Party managed to win five seats while the Social Democrats won only three, the Best Party is closer to the Social Democrats ideologically and philosophically speaking than they are to the conservatives.
To learn more about your new mayor, check out the Grapevine’s interview with him in our current issue, or read it online.