Viðreisn, ALDE member party in Iceland, held its national congress this weekend - its largest to date – where they reflected on their first year and successes in coalition government and looked on towards next year’s local elections.
Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, the party’s leader and current Minister of Foreign Affairs, was re-elected for another term as leader and said in her speech:
“When Viðreisn was founded, a gap in the political spectrum was filled and a modern, liberal, and internationalist party was created. Caring and liberalism are our foundation and are woven into a single fabric that cannot be torn apart. We are a party of systemic change and have not hesitated to present bills in support of this. We have rocked the boat when necessary, without fear, because we sense the public's demands that politics must be more human and transparent, but also more efficient.”
She also spoke of the importance of listening to and trusting the nation, when it comes to the referendum on continuation of negotiations with the EU, that we must face the threat to Europe, from Putin, not only by the illegal and cruel attack on Ukraine, but with the resent testing of European airspace. She also spoke on the man-made disaster in Gaza, the violation of international law and the state of despair that pushes us to want to do more to help and speak louder.
“We speak for the ideals of liberalism, freedom and well-being. Freedom is under attack because there are strong and powerful forces that, unfortunately, want to distort freedom and make liberalism suspicious, wherever it is found. Whether it is in classrooms, public spaces, international trade, on social media, now or just in bedrooms. Nothing is beyond their reach. They want to create imbalance and seem to believe that the chaos will lead us back to a society of the past that we do not miss at all. But we are not going back, we are going forward,” she said.
“But this vision, this dangerous approach, it does not carry with it much faith in the person himself and his ability to expand the world of the mind and also to create. These forces see the quality of one group always at the expense of another. This is a world where we live in scarcity, not creativity. But the story of Iceland is precisely about how creativity and resilience transformed one of the poorest nations in Europe into one of the richest countries in the world through sustainable use of resources and ingenuity alongside technological advances.”
The special international guest at the Congress was Guy Verhofstadt, former MEP and Prime Minister of Belgium, who delivered a keynote reminding that the world is changing and that strong Europe was more important than ever.
In his speech, Verhoftstadt implored: In a new world of empires, such as China, India and USA, with Brazil, Turkey and Iran rising, what is Europe’s future? Can it survive? Should we continue under the US umbrella? The answer, according to him is a European empire of the good, an empire which protects the liberal democracy. He also told guests that the EU would welcome Iceland and reminded them that if we do decide to join, we must defend the EU and the European idea, as a hope for the future. Defend the culture behind the EU, the political reality and the necessity of a strong Europe in the world of tomorrow.
The congress adopted a political resolution entitled “Viðreisn lets actions speak”, which places special emphasis on deficit-free state budget, the role of municipalities in improving people's quality of life, investment in mental health, and affirms that Viðreisn trusts the nation to make the decision on the continuation of negotiations with the European Union.
Speaking on the resolution, Gunnarsdóttir said:
“Viðreisn was established to work towards reforms in society and to protect our precious freedom. We have set our mark on this government, and we will continue to do so. I am very proud of the party’s political resolution. It sets the tone for what is to come, both in government and no less in the local elections next spring.”
Photo: Vidreisn