The Progressive Party ( is, Framsóknarflokkurinn, FSF) is an
agrarian political party in Iceland
This article is a list of political parties in Iceland. Iceland has a multi-party system with many political parties, in which often no one party has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition govern ...
.
For most of its history, the Progressive Party has governed with the
Independence Party. Since 30 November 2017, the party has been a coalition partner in the
Katrín Jakobsdóttir government. The current chairman of the party is
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson who was elected on 2 October 2016. His predecessor was
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, who was elected on 18 January 2009 and was
Prime Minister of Iceland from 23 May 2013 to 5 April 2016.
History
The Progressive Party was founded to represent Iceland's farmer class, which went from being dominant from settlement to the late 19th century to rapidly dwindling in the early 20th century as a result of industrialization and urbanization. Its primary support still comes from the rural areas of Iceland and its policy roots still stem from its origin as an
agrarian party, although it has since come to self-identify as a liberal party, though this is disputed outside of the party. It was founded in 1916 as a merger of two agrarian parties,
the
Farmers' Party (''Bændaflokkur'') and the
Independent Farmers
The Independent Farmers ( is, Óháðir bændur) were a short-lived political party in Iceland in 1916.
History
The party was established in 1916 as a breakaway from the Farmers' Party.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Gre ...
(''Óháðir bændur''). In 1956 the party almost agreed to an aborted merger with the
Social Democratic Party.
Throughout Iceland's history as a self-governing and independent nation, the Progressive Party has most often been the second largest political party in the country.
It has often joined government coalitions with either the
Independence Party on the
centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and m ...
, or with
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
parties.
During the period 1927–1990, the Progressive Party held the prime minister post for thirty years and spent more than two-thirds of the time in coalition government.
1970s
Following the
1971 parliamentary election, the Progressive Party formed a government with the
People's Alliance and
Union of Liberals and Leftists, with Progressive Party chairman
Ólafur Jóhannesson serving as Prime Minister.
The
1974 parliamentary election led to a coalition government of the Independence Party and Progressive Party led by
Geir Hallgrímsson.
The
1978 parliamentary election returned Ólafur Jóhannesson to the role of Prime Minister, leading a coalition containing the Progressive Party, People's Alliance and Social Democratic Party after two months of coalition negotiations.
The snap
1979 parliamentary election caused by the withdrawal of the Social Democrats from government led to a new government being formed in February 1980 by the Independence Party of Prime Minister
Gunnar Thoroddsen, Progressive Party and People's Alliance.
1980s
The
1983 parliamentary election resulted in Progressive Party leader
Steingrímur Hermannsson becoming Prime Minister in coalition with the Independence Party.
The
1987 parliamentary election in May saw a coalition being formed in July of that year led by
Thorsteinn Pálsson of the Independence Party, with the Progressive Party and Social Democratic Party as junior partners. However, in September 1988, a new government was formed by the Progressive Party's Steingrímur Hermannsson with the Social Democrats and People's Alliance.
1990s
Following the
1991 parliamentary election, the Progressive Party was in opposition, with the government being formed by Independence Party leader
Davíð Oddsson.
In the
1995 parliamentary election, Davíð Oddsson remained as Prime Minister, with the Progressive Party returning to government as junior coalition partner to the Independence Party, a coalition which continued after the
1999 election.
2000s
In the
2003 parliamentary election, the Progressive Party received 17.2% of the vote and 12 seats in the
Althing
The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (" thing fields" or "assem ...
.
On 15 September 2004,
Halldór Ásgrímsson of the Progressive Party took over as Prime Minister from Davíð Oddsson.
Halldór Ásgrímsson announced his intention to resign on 5 June 2006 following the party's poor results in the 2006 municipal elections. The coalition remained allied with the Independence Party chairman,
Geir H. Haarde, as Prime Minister. The Progressive Party leader
Jón Sigurðsson was Minister of Industry and Commerce, until a coalition of the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance took over after the elections in 2007.
In the
2007 parliamentary election, the party dropped five seats to hold only seven seats, down from twelve. The coalition only held a one-seat majority in the Althing, and the Independence Party formed a coalition government with the Social Democratic Alliance with the deal being signed on 22 May, returning the Progressive Party to the opposition. When a centre-left minority government was formed in February 2009, in the wake of the
2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, the Progressive Party agreed to defend it from a no-confidence vote, but did not form part of the governing coalition.
In January 2009, it decided to change its party line on joining the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
(EU) from being opposed to being in favour of
EU accession, but with very strong caveats.
The party later changed its policy to one of firm opposition to EU membership. In the wake of the
2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, the Progressive Party became more populist. According to political scientist Eiríkur Bergmann, "a completely renewed leadership took over the country’s old agrarian party, the Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn— PP), which was rapidly retuned in a more populist direction; geared against foreign creditors, international institutions and eventually partly towards anti- Muslim rhetoric, which until then had been absent in the country—there is no significant Muslim minority in Iceland. Under the new post-crisis leader- ship, the Progressive Party thus moved closer to populist parties in Europe."
In the
2009 parliamentary election, the Progressive Party fared somewhat better, securing 14.8% of the vote, and increasing its number of seats from seven to nine. It remained in opposition, however, with a centre-left coalition of the Social Democratic Alliance and the
Left-Green Movement continuing to govern with an increased majority.
2010s
In the
2013 parliamentary election, the Progressive Party reached second place nationally, winning 24.4% of the vote and 19 seats. Following the election, a centre-right coalition government was formed between the Progressive Party and Independence Party,
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson of the Progressive Party appointed as Prime Minister.
Sigmundur Davíð was ousted as leader of the party shortly after he was implicated in scandal and ethical quandaries in the
Panama Papers release.
The Progressive Party split in 2017 when Sigmundur Davíð created his own party, the
Centre Party (''Miðflokkurinn'').
2020s
After the 2021 parliamentary
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
, the new government was, just like the previous government, a tri-party coalition of the Independence Party, the Progressive Party and the
Left-Green Movement, headed by Prime Minister
Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Left-Green Movement.
Electoral results
Members of Parliament
Since the elections in 2021, the Progressive Party has thirteen members of parliament.
Leadership
See also
*
Independence Party (Iceland)
*
Nordic agrarian parties The Nordic agrarian parties, also referred to as Nordic Centre parties, Scandinavian agrarian parties or Agrarian Liberal parties are agrarian political parties that belong to a political tradition particular to the Nordic countries. Positioning th ...
*
Liberalism in Europe
*
Liberalism worldwide
This article gives information on liberalism worldwide. It is an overview of parties that adhere to some form of liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world.
Introduction
The definition of liberal party is highly deba ...
*
List of liberal parties
This article gives information on liberalism worldwide. It is an overview of parties that adhere to some form of liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world.
Introduction
The definition of liberal party is highly deb ...
*
Liberalism and centrism in Iceland
References
External links
Progressive Partyofficial site
{{Authority control
1916 establishments in Iceland
Eurosceptic parties in Iceland
Liberal International
Liberal parties in Iceland
Nordic agrarian parties
Political parties established in 1916