Young Independents call for early parliamentary elections

The Young Independents association is calling on the government to hold parliamentary elections and give voters the chance to entrust new people with restoring confidence in economic management and bringing down interest rates and inflation, mbl.is reported Monday.

The demand was included in a political resolution unanimously approved at the association’s conference in Eskifjörður over the weekend. More than 50 young members of the Independence Party attended, according to a statement.

Following the result of the referendum on negotiations over Iceland’s membership of the European Union, the association said the country faced the task of addressing its economic situation. It said the government’s measures had instead increased inflation and triggered higher interest rates.

The prime minister’s much-discussed “sledgehammer” had been used against young people, households and businesses, the resolution said, but not against interest rates or inflation.

Voting rights should follow citizenship

The association also said voting rights in Iceland should be linked to Icelandic citizenship. It called for electoral law to be changed so that only Icelandic citizens could vote in local elections, as is already the case in parliamentary elections, presidential elections and referendums.

Among other measures, the Young Independents called on Alþingi, Iceland’s parliament, to legalise surrogacy in Iceland. It also said the Media Commission should be abolished, the 100 percent value-added tax refund for paid work on the construction and maintenance of residential housing should be restored, and the number of income tax brackets should be reduced to one, set at 30 percent.

Housing market at the root of the problem

The association said the Independence Party should make easing the burden on households its main priority in the next parliamentary elections. That would involve reversing tax increases, taking a firm approach to immigration issues and addressing the root of the housing market problem by tackling tax collection, regulations and public obstacles that limit the supply of housing.

“The Young Independents association wants a free society in which the individual, not the state, is in charge. We believe Iceland’s future is based on freedom, responsibility and individual initiative, not centralisation and ever-expanding state activity,” the resolution said.

During the conference, participants visited businesses in the region. Eskja in Eskifjörður, Tanni Travel and Síldarvinnslan in Neskaupstaður hosted the young Independence Party members and presented their operations.

A ceremonial dinner was held on Saturday evening at Randulffssjóhús in Eskifjörður. Arnbjörg Sveinsdóttir, a former chairman of the Independence Party parliamentary group and longtime member of parliament, was the guest of honour.

The conference concluded at 11.50am on Sunday, September 20.