The Centre Party ( is, Miðflokkurinn) is a Nordic agrarian and

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

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 ...

established in September 2017. It split from the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

due to leadership disputes, when two factions decided to band up as a new party before the

2017 Icelandic parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 28 October 2017. On 15 September 2017, the three-party coalition government collapsed after the departure of Bright Future over a scandal involving Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson's father wr ...

. The Centre Party belongs to the Nordic agrarian party family, and like many parties in Iceland, is Eurosceptic.

Ideology

A self-proclaimed

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...

party, the party is generally

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and

. The party proposes to reform the state's banking sector, maintaining government ownership of

Landsbankinn Landsbankinn (literally "the National bank"), originally NBI hf., is an Icelandic bank headquartered in Reykjavík. It was established in 2008 by the Icelandic government out of the domestic operations of its predecessor Landsbanki which failed du ...

, while reclaiming the state's stake in

Arion Bank Arion Banki hf. formerly ''Nýja Kaupþing hf'' or ''New Kaupthing'' is an Icelandic bank with roots tracing back to 1930. The bank operates in the Greater Reykjavík area as well as in the largest urban areas around the country. In 2016 the bank ...

, which is controlled by hedge funds, and redistributing a third of its shares among Icelanders. It also plans to sell the government's existing stake in

Íslandsbanki Íslandsbanki is an Icelandic bank with roots tracing back to 1875, formerly being the domestic part of Glitnir banki hf., but on 15 October 2008 being split from the bankrupt Glitnir and reestablished into a new independent bank. The sole opera ...

. The party supports scrapping indexation on debts and opposes the

accession of Iceland to the European Union Accession refers to the general idea of joining or adding to. It may also refer to: *Accession (property law) * Accession, the act of joining a treaty by a party that did not take part in its negotiations; see Vienna Convention on the Law of Trea ...

. At the inaugural meeting of the party in Reykjavik on 8 October, the party's chairman and founder

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson (; born 12 March 1975) is an Icelandic politician who was the prime minister of Iceland from May 2013 until April 2016. He was also chairman of the Progressive Party from 2009 to October 2016. He was elected to th ...

stated that the party supported the best ideas of the left and right, emphasizing both the protection of individual rights and social security, while also focusing on regional issues in the same vein of the

Northern Powerhouse The Northern Powerhouse is a proposal to boost economic growth in the North of England by the 2010–15 coalition government and 2015–2016 Conservative government in the United Kingdom, particularly in the " Core Cities" of Hull, Manchester ...

in the United Kingdom and improving benefits for the elderly. The party also proposes to improve ferry services and construct a new

university hospital A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university. The following i ...

. The party opposed the expansion of the abortion limit from the 16th week of the pregnancy to the 22nd week. The party opposed legislation to allow individuals to define their own gender in the eyes of the law. One of the party's members has called for teaching climate change denial views in public schools. In 2021, Sigmundur Davíð called for the Icelandic government to take up the same asylum policy as that implemented by the Danish Social Democrats, that policy being to send asylum seekers to countries outside of Europe while their case is being processed. Sigmundur Davíð stated that the goal of this policy was to ensure that no one would come to the country seeking asylum.

Supporters

According to a poll conducted by the Social Science Research Institute at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

for '' Morgunblaðið'' in October 2017, the party drew nearly half its support from supporters of the Progressive Party in the

2016 Icelandic parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 29 October 2016. They were due to be held on or before 27 April 2017, but following the 2016 Icelandic anti-government protests, the ruling coalition announced that early elections would be held "i ...

, with another quarter from the Independence Party, and 13% from the liberal Reform Party and Bright Future. Sigmundur Davíð has traditionally attracted support due to his nationalist and populist views, though he did not express such views during the 2017 campaign.

Controversy

In December 2018, a leaked recording captured four MPs of the Centre Party, including party leader Sigmundur Davíð, discussing women and a disabled woman in denigrating and sexually charged language. The scandal was known as the Klaustur Affair. In October 2021, Birgir Þórarinsson, who was elected as a Centre Party candidate in elections the month before, announced that he was leaving the Centre Party and joining the Independence Party instead. Birgir cited the 2018 scandal as his reason for leaving the party. After Birgir's defection, the Centre Party was left with two members of the Althing.

Electoral results

Leaders

References

External links

Official website (in Icelandic)
{{authority control Conservative parties in Iceland Eurosceptic parties in Iceland Liberal parties in Iceland Nordic agrarian parties Political parties established in 2017