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Students And Their Democratic Right
Trump's picks for key positions in his second administration
REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- Icelanders voted to elect a new parliament Saturday after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call an early election. This is Iceland’s sixth general election since the 2008 financial crisis devastated the economy of the North Atlantic island nation and ushered in a new era of political instability. Opinion polls suggested the country could be in for another upheaval, with support for the three governing parties plunging. Benediktsson, who was named prime minister in April following the resignation of his predecessor, struggled to hold together the unlikely coalition of his conservative Independence Party with the centrist Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement. “My expectation is like, something new going to happen, hopefully," said Hörður Guðjónsson, voting in the capital, Reykjavik. “We always have had these old parties taking care of things. I hope we see the light now to come in with a younger people, new ideas.” Iceland, a nation of about 400,000 people, is proud of its democratic traditions, describing itself as arguably the world’s oldest parliamentary democracy. The island’s parliament, the Althingi, was founded in 930 by the Norsemen who settled the country. Fierce weather in the sub-Arctic nation threatened to hamper some voters getting to polling stations on Saturday, with heavy snow blocking roads in many areas. The weather could also delay the delivery of ballot boxes to counting centers after polls close at 10 p.m. (2200GMT). Voters are choosing 63 members of the Althingi in an election that will allocate seats both by regional constituencies and proportional representation. Parties need at least 5% of the vote to win seats in parliament. Eight parties were represented in the outgoing parliament, and 10 parties are contesting this election. Turnout is traditionally high by international standards, with 80% of registered voters casting ballots in the 2021 parliamentary election. A windswept island near the Arctic Circle, Iceland normally holds elections during the warmer months of the year. But Benediktsson decided on Oct. 13 that his coalition couldn’t last any longer, and he asked President Halla Tómasdóttir to dissolve the Althingi. “The weakness of this society is that we have no very strong party and we have no very strong leader of any party,’’ said Vilhjálmur Bjarnason a former member of parliament. “We have no charming person with a vision ... That is very difficult for us.” Despite the electoral headwinds, Benediktsson expressed confidence that his Independence Party could emerge on top. “It was an uphill battle for my party, initially, but as we moved on into the election campaign, I think things started to turn our way and I feel that this will be a very exciting election day,” he said. The splintering of Iceland's political landscape came after the 2008 financial crisis, which prompted years of economic upheaval after the country's debt-swollen banks collapsed. The crisis led to anger and distrust of the parties that had traditionally traded power back and forth, and prompted the creation of new parties ranging from the environment focused Left-Green Alliance to the Pirate Party, which advocates direct democracy and individual freedoms. “This is one of the consequences of the economic crash,’’ said Eva H. Önnudóttir, a professor of political science at the University of Iceland. “It’s just the changed landscape. Parties, especially the old parties, have maybe kind of been hoping that we would go back to how things were before, but that’s not going to happen.” Like many Western countries, Iceland has been buffeted by the rising cost of living and immigration pressures. Inflation peaked at an annual rate of 10.2% in February 2023, fueled by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. While inflation slowed to 5.1% in October, that is still high compared with neighboring countries. The U.S. inflation rate stood at 2.6% last month, while the European Union’s rate was 2.3%. Iceland is also struggling to accommodate a rising number of asylum-seekers, creating tensions within the small, traditionally homogenous country. The number of immigrants seeking protection in Iceland jumped to more than 4,000 in each of the past three years, compared with a previous average of less than 1,000. Repeated eruptions of a volcano in the southwestern part of the country have displaced thousands of people and strained public finances. One year after the first eruption forced the evacuation of the town of Grindavik, many residents still don’t have secure housing, leading to complaints that the government has been slow to respond. But it also added to a shortage of affordable housing exacerbated by Iceland’s tourism boom. Young people are struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder at a time when short-term vacation rentals have reduced the housing stock available for locals, Önnudóttir said. “The housing issue is becoming a big issue in Iceland,'' she said. ___ Danica Kirka reported from London. Jill Lawless contributed to this report from London.
Oct 27, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans safety Jalen Pitre (5) runs onto the field before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images/ File Photo Houston Texans starting safety Jalen Pitre is expected to be out multiple weeks after partially tearing a pectoral muscle on Sunday in the 32-27 home loss to the Tennessee Titans, NFL Network reported on Monday afternoon. Pitre won't have surgery at this point, according to the report, and his return is to be determined, including the possibility of playing later this season. Pitre, 25, has started all 12 games this season for the Texans and has 65 tackles, six tackles for loss, one interception, eight passes defended and one forced fumble. He has started all 44 games he has played in his career and has totaled 296 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, six interceptions, one sack, 21 passes defended, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Houston selected Pitre in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He made the NFL All-Rookie Team that season. The Texans (7-5) visit the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, then have their bye week before four more games to complete their regular-season schedule. --Field Level Media REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel nowArgentine Results
Rodgers says he'll enjoy the rest of the Jets' season and 'let the future take care of itself'
It got lost in the massive attention paid — with good reason — to Donald Trump’s triumphant return to the presidency, but a quiet revolution occurred in Los Angeles County. Its voters approved a ballot measure to completely overhaul how the huge county, whose 10 million residents are greater than the populations of all but 10 states, is governed. After the 2030 census, the county’s Board of Supervisors will be expanded from five to nine members, hopefully making it more representative of the county’s incredible demographic diversity. One could argue that the board should be even larger, perhaps 13 or even 15 members, to reduce each member’s constituency to a more manageable size. However, nine is certainly better than five. “People really want this change. They know it is time,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, chair of the board and co-author of the measure with Supervisor Janice Hahn, said after it became apparent that the measure would pass. “Five supervisors for 10 million people? That doesn’t make sense,” Horvath added. “Even with the hardest-working supervisor, people would like to see you more and pay more attention to their needs. It means we can do a lot better.” While expanding the board received most attention prior to the election, another element of the overhaul will potentially have a greater political impact: the creation of an elected county executive, in effect a mayor of the county. The first election for the new position will occur in 2028. Given the county’s size, it will hands-down be the second-most important political office in California and a very obvious stepping stone to the governorship, particularly since whoever wins the position is almost certain to be a Democrat. With dozens of mayors, congressional members and state legislators — plus nine county supervisors — Los Angeles County will have no shortage of political figures vying for the powerful position. Creating an elected county executive was the most controversial aspect of the proposal for the two board members who opposed placing the issue on the ballot. Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who voted against the measure with colleague Holly Mitchell, said it was wrong to have a position with no term limits. “That will politicize our chief executive officer position. We need an executive that is nonpartisan and unbiased running the daily operations of the county, not another politician,” Barger, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, said in a statement. The quiet revolution that occurred in Los Angeles sharply contrasts with what didn’t occur 400 miles to the north in San Francisco. It’s a city and a county combined, California’s only such entity, governed by an elected mayor and an 11-member Board of Supervisors. San Francisco voters ousted the incumbent mayor, London Breed, in favor of a wealthy philanthropist, Daniel Lurie, declaring that they wanted a change in governance. But at the same time, they rejected a ballot measure that would have reduced a bewildering array of 130 semi-independent commissions that wield much of the city government’s authority. The interlocking powers of a mayor, supervisors and the commissions are widely cited as preventing San Francisco from addressing its most obvious civic issues, such as homelessness, crime and housing shortages. A rival measure to study the commission system, which was placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors to thwart the more meaningful proposal, apparently passed. Kudos to Los Angeles but a raspberry to San Francisco. The most startling aspect of the change is that the reform was placed on the ballot by a majority of the present board. It effectively reduces the clout that individual members have wielded, something that politicians are generally unwilling to do. Dan Walters’ commentary is distributed by CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.
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