Lilja says young people won as Iceland rejects EU talks

Young Icelanders played a decisive role in the campaign against opening membership negotiations with the European Union, Progressive Party leader Lilja Alfreðsdóttir told mbl.is after voters rejected the proposal.

The no side won 52.8% of the national vote, according to final results announced after the figures from Iceland’s South-West constituency were counted.

Alfreðsdóttir said the referendum campaign had sparked significant political engagement among young people on foreign affairs, economic issues and the country’s future. She praised those who worked with the no campaign group Áfram Ísland, saying they had worked extremely hard because they wanted to decide their own affairs.

“If this is a victory anywhere, it is the victory of young people,” she said.

According to the latest Gallup poll before the vote, 60% of those aged 18 to 29 intended to vote against opening negotiations with the EU.

Government misread the situation

Alfreðsdóttir said the government’s EU process had been inadequately prepared from the beginning. She criticised the wording of the question, the government’s lack of supporting information and the absence of analysis that could have made the process credible.

She said the government had misread the situation facing households and businesses, which wanted greater focus on economic issues.

“They want interest rates and inflation to fall, and the government failed to convince the nation that EU membership or the EU process was the solution,” she said.

No side must listen to yes campaign

Alfreðsdóttir also said it was important for the no side to listen to the arguments made by the yes side.

In her view, those arguments represented a call for national consensus on economic matters and for action to bring inflation and interest rates under control and abolish indexation.