Left-Green Movement

The Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin – grænt framboð, also known by its acronym VG) is a left-wing political party in Iceland.

It was founded in 1999 by a few members of Alþingi who did not approve of the planned merger of the left-leaning political parties in Iceland that resulted in the founding of the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin). The Left-Green Movement focuses on democratic socialist values, feminism and environmentalism, as well as increased democracy and direct involvement of the people in the administration of the country. The party opposes Iceland's involvement in NATO and also the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The party rejects membership of the European Union and supports the Palestinian cause in the Middle East. It supports the mutual adaptation and integration of immigrants into Icelandic society as necessary.

The Left-Green Movement is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance.

The Left-Green Movement has about 3,000 members. The party chair is Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, MP. The vice chair is Katrín Jakobsdóttir, MP. The secretary-general of the party is Auður Lilja.

In the 1999 parliamentary elections the Left-Green Movement took 9.1% of the vote and six seats in the Alþingi. It had five members in the 63-seat Icelandic parliament after the 2003 elections where it polled 8.8% of the vote. After the 2007 elections the party had 9 seats in parliament, having received 14.3% of the vote.

In 2009 the Left-Green Movement joined the Social Democratic Alliance as the minor partner in a coalition government after the government of the Alliance and the liberal-conservative Independence Party collapsed. In the subsequent elections, it rose from 9 seats to 14, becoming Iceland's third-largest party (close behind Independence) with 21,7% of the vote, which is the second largest outcome of a left socialist party in Iceland, after the former communist People's Alliance in 1978 when it got 22.9% of the vote. The party, gained one seat in addition, when a non-party parliamentarian joined the party. Since then, three members of the parliamentary group have left the party. One joined the centrist Progressive Party and two others are now non-partisans. The election of 2013 reduced seats held by the party in the parliament from 12 to 7 as two center-right parties elected a majority.