Economics
Iceland Shows What Beats Populist Parties: Growth and Jobs
- Finance Minister Benediktsson set to become next premier
- Populist Pirate Party finishes short of pre-election polling
Iceland Elections Are Over, What Happens Next?
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The man who probably will be Iceland’s next prime minister says he knows how to deal with the global wave of populism that’s threatening the established order: Deliver plenty of economic growth and jobs.
Bjarni Benediktsson, the 46-year-old leader of the conservative Independence Party, on Sunday emerged as the big winner in the nation’s snap election. The populist Pirate Party, which had led in some polls even though it is only four years old, largely failed to live up to its hype. In a year where the British people voted to leave the European Union and political outsider Donald Trump is the Republican nominee for president, Icelanders were persuaded to vote for the status quo.