Saturday, June 26, 2010

Comedian and new mayor Jon Gnarr spoofs politics in Reykjavik

It’s made an impact - The Best Party won the local elections on 29 May with 34.7% of the vote! We talk to party number two Einar Orn Benediktsson, a former singer and trumpet player who has collaborated with Björk and the Sugarcubes

He’s more powerful than Italian comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo’s Vaffanculo Day (‘Fuck You Day’), better than Horst Schlammer’s public sun-beds in Germany or Gaspard Delanoe’s proposed Parisian transport network - as part of his 2008 mayoral campaign - of travelling in hot air balloons over the city. With a party claimed to be the ‘Best’, founded in December 2009, Iceland’s most popular actor Jon Gnarr proposes that Reykjavik’s inhabitants will have a white bear in their zoo and free towels in their local swimming baths, amongst others. We speak to the vice president of the party, Einar Orn Benediktsson.

cafebabel.com: What promises have you made to the people of Reykjavik?

Einar Orn Benediktsson: Number one on our agenda is to make Reykjavik an enjoyable place, where people know how to have fun. We are also going to pay particular attention to environmental issues and do everything we can to make politics ‘cleaner’. But above all, we have promised the people of Reykjavik new hope.

cafebabel.com: Have you used traditional methods of communication?

Einar Orn Benediktsson: We’ve used the internet a lot. All the Best Party members sang our manifesto to a cover of Tina Turner’s Simply the Best.




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