After intense public protests, the Icelandic conservative government folded last Monday, and a new center-left interim coalition government took office yesterday, with a view to general elections in April.
The new Prime Minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
(66), is a Social Democrat and has been an MP since 1978. She is nicknamed "Saint Jóhanna" in praise of her work for the rights of the handicapped, elderly and disadvantaged, and was recently voted the most popular politician in Iceland. She is also a lesbian, and lives with journalist Jónína Leósdóttir, who became her civil partner in a ceremony in 2002. Sigurðardóttir was previously married to a man and has two sons. I won't comment on the political or economic aspects of these proceedings - others have done so with much more insight than I have - but there is one question that I can't help wondering about.
She is said to be the first openly gay or lesbian person to become a head of government, not just in Iceland, but anywhere in the world. How will the world's homophobic nations react? I'm thinking of countries like Nigeria, Gambia, Iran, and all the others that I listed in a blog post last September.
How will they react? Will there be widespread protests in the streets of Damascus, Nicaraguan boycotts of Icelandic products, and burnings of the Icelandic flag in Medina? Will Tongan diplomatic personnel be recalled from Reykjavik? Or will everyone do the sensible thing and just ignore it, perhaps hoping that someone else will be elected in a few months?
I don't have the answer, but to my knowledge, no-one's even asked the question. We'll just have to see what happens, I suppose...
The new Prime Minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
(66), is a Social Democrat and has been an MP since 1978. She is nicknamed "Saint Jóhanna" in praise of her work for the rights of the handicapped, elderly and disadvantaged, and was recently voted the most popular politician in Iceland. She is also a lesbian, and lives with journalist Jónína Leósdóttir, who became her civil partner in a ceremony in 2002. Sigurðardóttir was previously married to a man and has two sons. I won't comment on the political or economic aspects of these proceedings - others have done so with much more insight than I have - but there is one question that I can't help wondering about.She is said to be the first openly gay or lesbian person to become a head of government, not just in Iceland, but anywhere in the world. How will the world's homophobic nations react? I'm thinking of countries like Nigeria, Gambia, Iran, and all the others that I listed in a blog post last September.
How will they react? Will there be widespread protests in the streets of Damascus, Nicaraguan boycotts of Icelandic products, and burnings of the Icelandic flag in Medina? Will Tongan diplomatic personnel be recalled from Reykjavik? Or will everyone do the sensible thing and just ignore it, perhaps hoping that someone else will be elected in a few months?
I don't have the answer, but to my knowledge, no-one's even asked the question. We'll just have to see what happens, I suppose...
Sigurdardóttir Ready to Become Iceland's PM (IcelandReview 27.1.09)
Lesbian likely to be appointed Iceland interim PM (365gay 27.1.09)
Icelandic politician may become world's first lesbian Prime Minister (PinkNews 27.1.09)
Iceland set to appoint first openly gay woman as PM (AP through PageOneQ 28.1.09)
Iceland To Appoint First Lesbian Prime Minister (Box Turtle Bulletin 28.1.09)
Lesbisk statsminister (Per Westberg - Kyrkoordnaren 28.1.09)
Iceland interim government to take office on Sunday (Reuters 31.1.09)
Isländsk interimsregering formas (YLE Nyheter 31.1.09)
New Iceland govt eyes Sunday handover (Reuters 31.1.09)
First gay PM for Iceland cabinet (BBC News 1.2.09)
Profile: Johanna Sigurdardottir (BBC News 1.2.09)
Ny regering på Island (YLE Nyheter 1.2.09)
Iceland Gets World's First Openly Gay Prime Minister (Aqurette 1.2.09)
Lesbian politician sworn in as Iceland PM (365gay 2.2.09)
2 kommentarer:
Varför ska det så stort rubriceras om hennes sexuella läggning. Har det nåt med politiken att göra i dethär fallet?
Politikernas sexuella läggning är irrelevant. Därför är det så intressant att det först år 2009 uppträder en politiker som trots denna irrelevans lyckas komma upp på topp, och det också i ett mycket litet land. Varför inte för femtio år sedan, eller tvåhundra, om det är så irrelevant?
Vilka de diplomatiska följderna blir är också en intressant fråga, som bör ställas till dem som anser att hennes sexuella läggning inte är irrelevant. Vi får se vad de gör.
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