included!
Probably nobody can resist this offer—it’s an election promise of which we are very proud.
11) The banking crash: those responsible are now being asked to pay .
We think this too is only right.
12) Absolute gender equality
We promise absolute equality, because that is the best for everyone.
13) We also take women and the elderly seriously
Women and the elderly are in fact rarely given a proper hearing. Everyone seems to agree that these people have nothing substantial to say. We will change that.
JOKE!
Four weeks before the election, the polls left no doubt: The Best Party was now the strongest political force in Reykjavík. After each new poll, we got together and held a war council. We finally had to put in an appearance on the campaign trail. Also, we needed to tone down our silliness and come up with something sensible to say. So in interviews I was now serious and prudent. We took turns appearing at the campaign events, and soon realized that we didn’t necessarily have undecided voters in front of us on these occasions, but rather the members and supporters of the respective parties. The cheerleaders, so to speak. They looked like normal people who came because they took an ardent interest in these matters. But if any average normal citizen drifted in, it was guaranteed to be some old fogy or whiner. It was pure theater.
In addition, we were invited to club meetings and gatherings of large companies for Q&A sessions with the public. I answered all questions honestly and conscientiously, but also took the opportunity to switch to a more casual tone. My message was roughly: “I’m doing this because I feel like it. Because we enjoy it. But if you vote for us, we’ll take it very seriously and see the thing through. Is that a deal? If that’s not whatyou want, just vote for the same lot as last time, and I’ll start looking for another job. No hard feelings!”
When it became clear that the Best Party was well on the way to evolving into a serious political body, I found myself giving constant interviews and expressing myself on boring and complex topics such as kindergartens, the Reykjavík domestic airport, and various financial matters. After all, the voters had a right to know what concrete plans the Best Party had for seniors, children, or this or that interest group. I thought this was more like a poorly disguised attempt to lull us to sleep with the greatest possible boredom.
I responded doughtily, but every answer threw up two new, even more complicated questions. Finally, I pulled the emergency brake and said that until further notice I wouldn’t be making any additional comment in the Icelandic media. Now that the truth about the financial crisis had come to light, the whole quagmire of corruption, racketeering, and money-grabbing in which they’d all—political parties, business, and the media alike—been involved was exposed. As such, I decided that I would only be made available to foreign journalists.
In those weeks we were out on the road all day, from here to there and back again. Everywhere it was nonstop talking, and I often turned up at meetings totally unprepared and with no idea what was really going on. The rest of the time we hung out in our campaign headquarters, drank coffee, and discussed things.
From time to time my wife Jóga came along with a proposal that I meet this or that person. For example, we still needed someone in our ranks with legal expertise. Jóga suggested Haraldur Flosi Tryggvason, about whom I knew nothing except that he’d once played saxophone with the Jupiters. And now I knew he was also a lawyer. So I met with him and his wife over a cup of coffee and mentioned that we were still looking for a lawyer. At first he was skeptical, but his wife spoke to him and begged him to accept the offer. He mulled it over, took counsel with his father, and finally said yes. After the election, Haraldur Flosi was made chairman of the energy company
Probably nobody can resist this offer—it’s an election promise of which we are very proud.
11) The banking crash: those responsible are now being asked to pay .
We think this too is only right.
12) Absolute gender equality
We promise absolute equality, because that is the best for everyone.
13) We also take women and the elderly seriously
Women and the elderly are in fact rarely given a proper hearing. Everyone seems to agree that these people have nothing substantial to say. We will change that.
JOKE!
Four weeks before the election, the polls left no doubt: The Best Party was now the strongest political force in Reykjavík. After each new poll, we got together and held a war council. We finally had to put in an appearance on the campaign trail. Also, we needed to tone down our silliness and come up with something sensible to say. So in interviews I was now serious and prudent. We took turns appearing at the campaign events, and soon realized that we didn’t necessarily have undecided voters in front of us on these occasions, but rather the members and supporters of the respective parties. The cheerleaders, so to speak. They looked like normal people who came because they took an ardent interest in these matters. But if any average normal citizen drifted in, it was guaranteed to be some old fogy or whiner. It was pure theater.
In addition, we were invited to club meetings and gatherings of large companies for Q&A sessions with the public. I answered all questions honestly and conscientiously, but also took the opportunity to switch to a more casual tone. My message was roughly: “I’m doing this because I feel like it. Because we enjoy it. But if you vote for us, we’ll take it very seriously and see the thing through. Is that a deal? If that’s not whatyou want, just vote for the same lot as last time, and I’ll start looking for another job. No hard feelings!”
When it became clear that the Best Party was well on the way to evolving into a serious political body, I found myself giving constant interviews and expressing myself on boring and complex topics such as kindergartens, the Reykjavík domestic airport, and various financial matters. After all, the voters had a right to know what concrete plans the Best Party had for seniors, children, or this or that interest group. I thought this was more like a poorly disguised attempt to lull us to sleep with the greatest possible boredom.
I responded doughtily, but every answer threw up two new, even more complicated questions. Finally, I pulled the emergency brake and said that until further notice I wouldn’t be making any additional comment in the Icelandic media. Now that the truth about the financial crisis had come to light, the whole quagmire of corruption, racketeering, and money-grabbing in which they’d all—political parties, business, and the media alike—been involved was exposed. As such, I decided that I would only be made available to foreign journalists.
In those weeks we were out on the road all day, from here to there and back again. Everywhere it was nonstop talking, and I often turned up at meetings totally unprepared and with no idea what was really going on. The rest of the time we hung out in our campaign headquarters, drank coffee, and discussed things.
From time to time my wife Jóga came along with a proposal that I meet this or that person. For example, we still needed someone in our ranks with legal expertise. Jóga suggested Haraldur Flosi Tryggvason, about whom I knew nothing except that he’d once played saxophone with the Jupiters. And now I knew he was also a lawyer. So I met with him and his wife over a cup of coffee and mentioned that we were still looking for a lawyer. At first he was skeptical, but his wife spoke to him and begged him to accept the offer. He mulled it over, took counsel with his father, and finally said yes. After the election, Haraldur Flosi was made chairman of the energy company
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