Campaign pledges not fulfilled during the last term

Translation: Victoria Bakshina

The corona pandemic may have disrupted the former priorities, so below we will go over campaign pledges of certain parties that were given for the parliamentary elections of 2017 and were not fulfilled. The parties that formed the government 2017-2021 were the Progressive Party, the Independence Party and the Left-Green Movement. Some of the issues, that had been pledged and discussed profusely in the media and social dialogue, were: the creation of a highland national park, the construction of hospital rooms, the reception of more refugees, the revision of the constitution, improvements in the treatment of sexual crimes, along with other issues. In August of 2021 73% of actions were completed, which constitutes 138 actions of the 189 that were mentioned in the government agreement during the period 2017-2021.

One of the election issues for the Independence Party in the election of 2017 was to provide students with study grants according to the Nordic model. The students in Iceland were supposed to receive around 65.000 ISK per month. In the law of the Icelandic Student Loan Fund that went into effect on June 26th, 2020, there is no mention of the proposed student grant system. The only type of grant that is currently available to students is the partial cancellation of the study loan upon the completion of studies, and the child maintenance grant. The pledged student grant is nowhere to be found in this law. However, it can be mentioned, that during their term in office a law was passed to waive 30% of the principal amount of the loan, provided that a student has completed the studies on time. The reason to refuse the adoption of the Nordic grant system was that the partial cancellation of the principal amount is supposed to motivate students not to overstay at the university. It goes without saying that the grant is given only to the students that will benefit from it.

The Left-Green Movement wanted to focus on receiving more refugees. The situation of asylum seekers and quota refugees was supposed to be improved, and comply with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Unfortunately, the current situation still leaves a lot of room for improvement, when it comes to conditions that are offered to asylum seekers and refugees. According to Statistics Iceland, there were 731 new asylum applicants in 2018, 247 were approved, 484 were deported. In 2019 we received 813 applications, 345 were dismissed. In 2020 no refugees have been received in Iceland. A higher percentage of approved applications in 2019 compared to 2018 may be attributed to the number of applications from the citizens of Venezuela, and the UNHCR’s publication that the people there would be in great need of protection. No more refugees had been received this term, and it is unclear how the reception of refugees will evolve in the next term of office. In the section on welfare in the government agreement of the Progressive Party, the Independence Party, and the Left-Green Movement about the coalition government cooperation and the strengthening of the Parliament, it is stated that the emphasis should be placed on good and efficient handling of the applications for international protection. It must be considered a subjective assessment of what such handling involves, but the agency that oversees the applications for international protection, The Directorate of Immigration, has received a lot of criticism lately for delays and slow modus operandi. The Directorate of Immigration has also been accused of inhumane policy by deporting the applicants for international protection, and for not taking into account, nor examining all aspects of the cases, nor the situation in the countries to which applicants are sent from Iceland. The Executives of the Directorate of Immigration have, in at least one case, been given the benefit of the doubt as to whether their actions have been legal.

It is clear that the government had promised more than it could deliver, and it will be extremely important for the new government to stick to their word, especially in the influential parties that have been listed here. Had these pledges been fulfilled and not used to lure voters, the confidence in the government and individual politicians would have increased.