Former mayor of Reykjavík Dagur B. Eggertsson is running for the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) in the upcoming Alþingi elections. He assumes second place in the North Reykjavík constituency, which party leader Kristrún Frostadóttir leads. Dagur has been on Reykjavík’s city council since 2002 and served as mayor from 2014 to early 2024. He currently chairs the city’s executive council. This is his first foray into national politics.
Despite Dagur’s political experience and high ranking on the party list, Kristrún stated in a private message that Dagur will not be offered a cabinet position in the case of a Samfylkingin-led government, RÚV reports. Following discussions in a Facebook group for inhabitants in Grafarvogur, Kristrún communicated with a disgruntled voter and encouraged them to strike through Dagur’s name on the ballot. Kristrún’s confidant subsequently leaked the communication to the media.
Familiar faces
Dagur joins the laundry list of well-known individuals running for parliament. In late September, Dagur’s colleague from Reykjavík’s mayor’s office and former presidential candidate Jón Gnarr announced his candidacy for the Liberal Reform party (Viðreisn), bidding for second place in the South Reykjavík constituency.
Adding to the number of former presidential candidates running for parliament are Halla Hrund Logadóttir for the Progressive Party, Arnar Þór Jónsson for his newly founded Democratic Party, and Viktor Traustason for the Pirate Party.
Among some famed talking heads shifting into the political sphere include two-thirds of the public Covid executive committee Víðir Reynisson and Alma Möller. Both are running for Samfylkingin.
The surge of well-known names and faces on the upcoming electoral ballots has been a contentious topic in the national discourse as of late. In a Vísir panel, Samfylking MP Oddný G. Harðardóttir argued that this development is the result of the snap election, as political parties had less than two months to prepare for election day, following Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson’s dissolution of parliament.
Icelandic voters flock to the polling stations on November 30.
Follow along with the Grapevine’s 2024 election coverage.
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