Laissez Faire Landslide
Photograph of Icelandic President Guðni Jóhannesson after casting his vote in Gardabaer. Photo courtesy of Agence France-Presse.
On 27 June, Icelandic voters went to the polls in a presidential election, only the second European election to be held in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the president does reserve to right to veto legislation or put an issue to a referendum, the position is mainly ceremonial.
Guðni Jóhannesson, a former history professor, won his second term with an overwhelming popular majority of 92.2 per cent, beating out his right-wing rival, Guðmundur Franklín Jónsson, according to Deutsche-Welle.
Mr Jónsson, a former Wall Street manager, Danish hotel manager, and ally of American President Donald Trump, sought for the president to have a more active role in public policy.
Polls earlier in the year showed Mr Jónsson with almost no chance of winning the race, due to the incumbent’s popularity.
Mr Jóhannesson has favoured a more ‘hands-off’ approach, remaining neutral in most political disputes. Mr Jóhannesson’s non-combative stance, as well as the post-2007 to 2009 global financial crisis economic rebound, has helped him remain popular with Icelandic voters. This year’s margin of victory is the second-largest in the country’s history.
Mr Jóhannesson’s background as an educator has also given him popular appeal, due to his persona as a ‘man of the people’.
This year’s turnout rate was down to 66.7 per cent, down from 75.7 per cent in 2016. However, COVID-19 is believed not to have affected the polls too much, according to France 24.
Iceland has experienced a mild outbreak, reporting only 10 deaths and 11 active cases, as of the publication of this article.
Voters seem to have favoured a more ceremonial head of state, while most powers sit with the centre-left government, led by Prime-Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
Sources:
‘Iceland's incumbent president set for landslide election win’, DW News, Deutsche Welle, 27 June 2020,
https://www.dw.com/en/icelands-incumbent-president-set-for-landslide-election-win/a-53963966
‘Iceland’s president re-elected with 92 percent of the vote’, France 24, France Médias Monde, 28 June 2020,