Claustur affair

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The Klaustur Affair , also known in Iceland as Klaustur-Recordings (Klaustursupptökurnar) or Klausturgate , is a political affair that has led to public discussions and protests in Iceland since the end of November 2018 . It was triggered by sound recordings of Icelandic parliamentarians of the Althing , which were secretly recorded on November 20, 2018 in the Klaustur bar in Reykjavík and subsequently leaked to the media. The records contain insulting and sexist statements about women MPs and reveal the appointment of ambassadorial posts as a political favor.

Procedure and content

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson (2016)
Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson (2014)

On the evening of November 20, 2018, the parliament and former prime minister met Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson from the Center Party , his party colleagues Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson , Anna Kolbrún Árnadóttir and Bergþór Ólason and Karl Gauti Hjaltason and Ólafur Ísleifsson by the party Flokkur fólksins in Your MEPs of the Althing popular bar Klaustur near the parliament building in Reykjavík . A visitor to the bar who happened to be present, who the parliamentarians took to be a foreign tourist, began to record the loud conversation with her mobile phone because the content struck her as shocking. She played her recordings under the pseudonym "Marvin" to the media, namely the newspapers DV and Stundin and the political women's magazine Kvennablaðið . On December 7th, the 42-year-old Bára Halldórsdóttir released her pseudonym and spoke in more detail about her motives in an interview.

The sound recordings include how Bergþór Ólason uses sexist expressions to describe the party leader of Flokkur fólksins Inga Sæland while he tries to persuade Karl Gauti Hjaltason and Ólafur Ísleifsson to leave their party and switch to the Center Party. Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson agrees with a laugh. Former parliamentarian Freyja Haraldsdóttir , who suffers from vitreous bone disease and has emerged as a disability rights activist , is also the target of derogatory comments, as is Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir from the Progressive Party , Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir from the Independence Party and Oddný G. Harardóttir from the Alliance . Anna Kolbrún Árnadóttir, the only woman in the group, made no comparable disparaging remarks.

During the interview, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson describes how he appointed former Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde (Independence Party) as Icelandic Ambassador to the United States in 2014 in his capacity as Icelandic Foreign Minister in the Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson cabinet . As a distraction from this controversial appointment - Geir Haarde had to resign as a result of Iceland's financial crisis 2008-2011 - he also made the left-green politician Árni Þór Sigurðsson ambassador. From the appointment of Geir Haarde, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson hoped to vote favorably for the Independence Party and especially its chairman Bjarni Benediktsson , in order to later receive a post in the diplomatic service with their support.

consequences

The two members of Flokkur fólksins , Karl Gauti Hjaltason and Ólafur Ísleifsson, were expelled from their party, but remained in parliament, initially as non-party. At the end of February 2019, they joined the Center Party. Bergþór Ólason and Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson initially left their parliamentary activities unpaid; their places in the Althing have meanwhile been taken by substitutes. However, they returned to parliament on January 24, 2019. All those involved have now publicly apologized. Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson was remorseful in a radio interview. He said he was "very drunk" and that he had to apologize to a lot of people. Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson apologized by phone to Freyja Haraldsdóttir, explaining that the sound recording had been misinterpreted.

On Saturday, December 1, 2018, demonstrators on the Austurvöllur called on all six parliamentarians to resign. The parliamentary president Steingrímur J. Sigfússon was presented with the demand for an amendment to the law that would enable the Althing to expel members of parliament for misconduct. Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said the affair will have an impact on the upcoming work of parliament in winter. It is very sad to hear such statements a year after the #MeToo debate. The scandal does not affect the Icelandic government directly as the two parties involved are in opposition. Parliament's ethics committee has announced that it will be investigating the affair.

On the evening of December 3rd, actors from Reykjavík City Theater performed a dramatic reading with excerpts from the recordings.

In a Gallup poll conducted after the affair became known, support for the Center Party among the Icelandic population fell from 13% to 8%, while support for Flokkur fólksins remained unchanged at 6%. In another survey, calls for resignation found high support; 91% of those questioned agreed with the statement that Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson should resign.

International media such as the New York Times , BBC and SRF had also reported on the affair since the first week of December 2018 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Larissa Kyzer: Protests Outside Alþingi on Iceland's Centenary ( English ) In: Iceland Review . December 2, 2018. Retrieved on December 3, 2018: "RÚV reports that protesters gathered to demand that the six MPs embroiled in the" Klaustur Affair "be held accountable (...)"
  2. ↑ Bryndís Silja Pálmadóttir: Klaustursupptökurnar áfall og orðbragðið engum sæmandi ( Icelandic ) In: Fréttablaðið . November 30, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  3. ↑ Oddur Ævar Gunnarsson: Stólpagrín gert að #Klausturgate á Twitter ( Icelandic ) In: Fréttablaðið . November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  4. ↑ a b c Andie Fontaine: Recording Of Icelandic MPs times Speaking Misogynistically About Women Colleagues Leaked ( English ) In: The Reykjavík Grapevine . November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  5. ↑ a b Björn Þorfinnsson: "Þá fékk ég æluna upp í háls" - Töldu hann vera erlendan ferðamann ( Icelandic ) In: DV . November 30, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  6. ↑ Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson: Uppljóstrarinn af Klaustri: "Ég he fötluð hinsegin kona og mér blöskraði" ( Icelandic ) In: Stundin . December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  7. ↑ Jelena Ćirić: MPs Bad-Mouth Female Politicians in Recorded Conversation ( English ) In: Iceland Review . 201811-29. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  8. ↑ a b c d Laurence Peter: Iceland scandal over MPs' crude and sexist bar talk ( English ) In: BBC News . December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  9. ↑ Larissa Kyzer: Tape Reveals Geir Haarde Appointed Ambassador as Political Favor ( English ) In: Iceland Review . October 30, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  10. ↑ Kristín Ólafsdóttir: Karl Gauti og Ólafur gengnir til liðs við Miðflokkinn ( Icelandic ) In: visir.is . February 22, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  11. ↑ a b c d Alexander Elliott: MPs' secret recording scandal: update ( English ) In: ruv.is . Ríkisútvarpið . December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  12. ↑ Jelena Ćirić: Klaustur Scandal MPs Return to Parliament ( English ) In: Iceland Review . January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  13. ↑ Höskuldur Kári Schram: Mun hafa neikvæð áhrif á í þingstörf vetur ( Icelandic ) In: ruv.is . Ríkisútvarpið. November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  14. ↑ Gréta Sigríður Einarsdóttir: Ethics Committee Requests Klaustur Recordings ( English ) In: Iceland Review . December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  15. ↑ Larissa Kyzer: Excerpt of "Klaustur Tapes" to be Performed by Theater Group ( English ) In: Iceland Review . December 2, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  16. ↑ Sólveig Klara Ragnarsdóttir: Fullt út úr dyrum í Borgarleikhúsinu ( Icelandic ) In: ruv.is . Ríkisútvarpið . December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  17. ^ A b Andie Fontaine: Polls: Center Party Takes A Hit, Most Icelanders Want Resignations ( Icelandic ) In: The Reykjavík Grapevine . December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  18. ↑ Ceylan Yeginsu, Egill Bjarnason: Iceland in Uproar Over Secret Recording of Politicians' Sexist Remarks ( English ) In: The New York Times . December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  19. ↑ Bruno Kaufmann: Racism and Sexism: Icelandic politicians bring the people's soul to a boil . In: SRF News . December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.