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Icelanders vote for stability as Pirates fall short of expectations
Birgitta Jonsdottir of the Pirate Party reacts alongisde party members after early results of the parliamentary elections in Iceland, October 29, 2016. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Geirix
By Stine Jacobsen and Zoe Robert
30/10/2016
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Icelanders opted for stability in a general election, results showed on Sunday, with the anti-establishment Pirate Party falling short of expectations and the junior partner in the outgoing government emerging on top.
With voters still angered by the 2008 financial crisis and the naming of several government figures in an offshore tax haven scandal this year, Icelanders looked to oust the center-right coalition in its current form.
The biggest group, the Progressive Party, lost more than half its share of the vote in Saturday's election after Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned following revelations in the "Panama Papers" scandal.
But the Pirate Party, founded by a group of internet activists, failed to perform as well as opinion polls had indicated. While its share of the vote tripled from the last election in 2013, it came in only third with 15 percent.
Instead, voters appeared to have recognized efforts to stabilize the economy after its 2008 collapse. The center-right Independence Party, which shared power in the outgoing government, won the largest share of the vote with 29 percent.
No party has won an outright majority and President Gudni Johannesson has yet to hand the mandate to the party that will be tasked with forming the next government.
Poet Birgitta Jonsdottir, who leads the Pirate Party, told Reuters she was happy with the result. "Our internal predictions showed 10 to 15 percent, so this is at the top of the range. We knew that we would never get 30 percent," she said.
Supporters of the broader pirate movement from 15 countries, along with ex-campaign workers for former U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, had visited Reykjavik to back the Icelandic party, hoping that it would have a shot at forming the next government and deal another blow to mainstream politicians.
Both the Independence Party and the Pirate Party, whose founders call themselves "hacktivists", have so far ruled out working together, though this could change during negotiations in the days to come. The Left-Greens came second with 16 percent.
MESSY COALITION
Independence Party leader Bjarni Benediktsson, current finance minister, said: "It would be natural that we are a leading party in the next government."
His party has promised to lower taxes and keep the economic recovery on track. Fueled by a tourism boom, economic growth has recovered since the banking crisis and is expected to hit 4.3 percent this year.
In a tight race, the newly-established Vidreisn, or Reform Party, could become kingmaker. The pro-European, liberal party which won around 10 percent of votes in its first election has not yet taken sides.
The senior coalition partner in the outgoing government, the Progressive Party, saw its support dive to 11.5 percent.
It was hurt badly when Gunnlaugsson resigned as prime minister in April after documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm linked him to an offshore company that held millions of dollars in debt from failed Icelandic banks.
The Independence Party will hold 21 seats in the 63 member parliament, up two. Representation by the Left-Green Movement rose three to 10 seats, while the Pirate Party has gained seven to 10 seats.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Zoe Robert, Editing by G Crosse, Nick Macfie and David Stamp)
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