Iceland: Political Developments and Data in 2024

Abstract In 2024, both presidential and parliamentary elections took place in Iceland. Halla Tómasdóttir replaced Guðni Th. Jóhannesson as president, after Jóhannesson unexpectedly declared on 1 January that he would not be standing for a third presidential term. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, leader of the Left Greens, resigned her post in April when she decided to run for president. Subsequently, the leader of the Independence Party, Bjarni Benediktsson, became Prime Minister. To the surprise of many, Jakobsdóttir, a most popular politician for many years, lost the presidential election. Within the highly unpopular government coalition, open disagreements intensified. In October, Benediktsson dissolved the coalition unilaterally and called for a snap election. The government parties jointly lost 25 percentage points, as well as their parliamentary majority. No left-socialist party was represented in Parliament for the first time since 1937. The number of parliamentary parties was reduced from eight to six. Three opposition parties close to the center gained 23 points, and three female party leaders formed a majority coalition.