Bergþór warns unrest within Viðreisn will deepen

Discontent within the Viðreisn party is likely to grow after Jón Gnarr’s departure, according to Bergþór Ólason, an MP for the Centre Party. He told Morgunblaðið’s Dagmál programme, as reported by mbl.is, that Gnarr’s criticism reflected wider disappointment among the party’s supporters with its policies and ministers.

“Now everything is gloomy and miserable,” Bergþór said, contrasting the mood with Viðreisn’s earlier emphasis on fun and enthusiasm. He questioned whether people drawn to that image would stay when the party faced difficulties.

Bergþór said Viðreisn had come across as a relatively controlling party with a strong interest in raising taxes, which he said did not match the expectations of some supporters. He argued that the party’s ministers were driving this approach and linked it to Gnarr’s criticism of cliques within the party.

Supporters he meets, Bergþór said, have voiced clear frustration. He pointed to bills from both the finance minister and the minister of industry, saying they reflected what he called an “endless obsession with taxes”. In his view, the approach resembled one that might previously have been associated only with a hard-left party.

He said a tendency towards left-wing policies and tax increases had been visible in the party’s votes in earlier parliamentary terms and had intensified after its representatives became ministers.

Bergþór also discussed European affairs and criticism of the timing of the party’s approach. He said recent events suggested the unrest would continue for now, noting that the party’s leader was abroad and that Viðreisn municipal representatives in Akureyri had publicly expressed dissatisfaction. He added that Gnarr had said conversations with supporters after the party’s defeat in August revealed more discontent than had previously been acknowledged.