Faroe Islands Løgting Elections

[Chris from Brum]

Coming up on 31st August, I understand.  There are 33 members elected via an open list proportional system.  Seven parties were elected at the 2015 election:

Parties                                         Votes     +/−       %       +/−     Seats +/−
Social Democratic Party (Javnaðarflokkurin)     8,093     +2,665    25.1    +7.3    8     +2
Republic (Tjóðveldi)                            6,691     +1,102    20.7    +2.5    7     +1
People's Party (Fólkaflokkurin)                 6,102       -781    18.9    -3.6    6     -2
Union Party (Sambandsflokkurin)                 6,046     -1,500    18.7    -5.9    6     -2
Progress (Framsókn)                             2,241       +308     7.0    +0.7    2     ±0
Centre Party (Miðflokkurin)                     1,779       −104     5.5    −0.7    2     ±0
New Self-Government (Nýtt Sjálvstýri)           1,305        +15     4.1    −0.2    2     +1

Change tends to be incremental here, and nobody is running away with it according to reports that I am aware of.  Issues are very local, and personalities come into it a great deal.  There is a unionist/independence divide - the Social Democrats are "neutral" but tend to favour stability over the union with Denmark, and the Union party is, of course, unionist. Republic is for separation now and abolition of the monarchy, while New Self-Government supports gradual movement towards independence.  The People's Party also supports independence, but has previously been in coalition with Union and the Social Democrats.  Progress also supports independence.  I can't find out what the Centre Party thinks about this, but I suspect they are unionist.  

The outgoing coalition government has consisted of the Social Democrats, Republic and Progress, supported by one Independent who defected from the Social Democrats.  This had a bare majority of 1 over the combined opposition.

The Faroe Islands also send two members to the Danish parliament, but these are elected as part of the Danish GE cycle.  Currently, one member is from the Social Democrats, and sits with the main left bloc there.  The other is from Republic, and I think is unaligned.

[matureleft]

The electorate must be around 41,000 and the turnout last time was an impressive 88.8%, so they certainly care.

Full independence would be a challenge for a such small population and such a narrow economic base! And they, like Greenland, enjoy a Danish subsidy. At least Trump hasn't suggested a US takeover!

[Devil Wincarnate]

A bugger to get to, but one of the most fascinating, rewarding places I've been to in Europe.

[Chris from Brum]

Aug 21, 2019 9:05:34 GMT matureleft said:

The electorate must be around 41,000 and the turnout last time was an impressive 88.8%, so they certainly care.

Full independence would be a challenge for a such small population and such a narrow economic base! And they, like Greenland, enjoy a Danish subsidy. At least Trump hasn't suggested a US takeover!

Is is thought that there may be oil under the surrounding seas, but nothing definite has happened there.  There is low-level volcanic activity too.  There will be no declaration of independence without a referendum, where the full implications will doubtless be debated in exhaustive detail on TV and radio and in the local press, though I think there is only one daily paper, Sosialurin (left-leaning) still in print, the other, Dimmalætting (right-leaning) having gone weekly in print, though with daily updates online.

[Chris from Brum]

Aug 21, 2019 11:26:19 GMT Devil Wincarnate said:

A bugger to get to, but one of the most fascinating, rewarding places I've been to in Europe.

It can be a bugger to get to.  On our last visit, we flew from Gatwick with Atlantic Airways, their national airline.  The plane was delayed by about 8 hours due to engine trouble - they don't have many, if any, spare planes so we just had to wait.  They don't fly from there anymore, I think you have to get to Edinburgh now.  They have in the past used Aberdeen and Stansted.  And of course, flights are just once or twice weekly direct, though you could consider going via Denmark - Billund and Copenhagen have more regular flights.  AFAIK there are no longer any direct sailings from Scotland.

[Toylyyev]

Aug 21, 2019 12:38:22 GMT Chris from Brum said:

Aug 21, 2019 9:05:34 GMT matureleft said:

The electorate must be around 41,000 and the turnout last time was an impressive 88.8%, so they certainly care.

Full independence would be a challenge for a such small population and such a narrow economic base! And they, like Greenland, enjoy a Danish subsidy. At least Trump hasn't suggested a US takeover!

Is is thought that there may be oil under the surrounding seas, but nothing definite has happened there.  There is low-level volcanic activity too.  There will be no declaration of independence without a referendum, where the full implications will doubtless be debated in exhaustive detail on TV and radio and in the local press, though I think there is only one daily paper, Sosialurin (left-leaning) still in print, the other, Dimmalætting (right-leaning) having gone weekly in print, though with daily updates online.

Low-level is an interesting description for the apparently third largest flood basalt in the last 150 million years. But activity has according to my knowledge been rented out to Iceland on a long term lease.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thulean_Plateau

[erlend]

I understand that one of the points of the Centre Party is being quite old fashioned Christian on LGBT issues. A quick check of wikipedia confirms this.

[Georg Ebner]

51.5% is counted.

The prognosis ("forsögn") seems to be, that the 3 left governing parties will lose 1 seat each and that the 2 big right parties would get together with the ChristDemocrats 17/33 seats.

[Georg Ebner]

So the FaroeIslands could see the contrary of Finland: After an unusually onesidedly left coalition an outstandingly right one.