The story of Jon Gnarr-a comedian who "got to" the position of mayor of Reykjavik
Iceland is a very unusual country, so it is quite normal that things that are not completely explicable happen in it. For 4 years, the mayor of the state capital, Reykjavik, was Jon Gnarr, a comedian nominated by an anarchist-surrealist political force. All this did not prevent the guy to perfectly cope with the responsible mission and leave his mark in the history of the northernmost capital of the world.
As a child, Jon Gnarr was not considered an ordinary child. The boy had severe dyslexia, which made it difficult for him to read and communicate coherently. At one time, Gnarr was even considered mentally retarded, but then they figured it out and diagnosed him with attention deficit disorder.
After school, Jon could not find himself in life for a long time. He worked as a taxi driver, a nurse, a worker in the assembly shop of the Volvo plant. Then he tried himself as a comedian and began a career in radio and television. In 2010, Gnarr got tired of this — he just decided to become mayor and, by the way, he did.
The party that Jon Gnarr ran for is called very unexpectedly — "The Best Party". The comedian himself once admitted that it all started as a joke, released on some TV show. The funny plot began to take on details, to take on real outlines, and when Jon caught himself, he was already part of a real political force that the citizens of the country trusted.
The "Best Party" had a mocking slogan: "Why vote for the second or third party when you can get the best one?". Its first members were a few punks and actors, who were later joined out of curiosity by a couple of political scientists.
Jon Gnarr and Haida Helgadottir — head of the campaign headquarters of the "Best Party»
The party's program was extremely stupid — Jon and like-minded people promised their voters free towels in the baths, the construction of a "Disneyland" for the unemployed and the purchase of a polar bear for the local zoo. In addition, one of the points of the program contained a solemn promise not to do anything in the event of winning the election:
That's how it is-standard for politicians, but at the same time disarmingly frank. Gnarr made no secret of his utter incompetence in public affairs, surprising journalists during interviews and opponents during debates. One day, a candidate from the "Best Party" was asked what he would do with the unfinished airport when he became mayor. To this question, the comedian frankly replied that he had no idea how to solve this problem.
Workplace of a government official
Gnarr answered all the other questions with the utmost honesty, which earned him the sympathy of the people of the capital. The politicians who held the mayor's seat before Jon also did not know the situation on many of Reykjavik's problems, but before the election they lied enthusiastically and promised "mountains of gold".
In 2010, when the "Best Party" of Gnarr and his associates won the elections, the country was in a serious economic crisis. Many large banks closed, firms went bankrupt, and the Icelandic krona rapidly depreciated. The party, whose backbone was informal and outspoken anarchists, got to work and was able to pull the country out of economic decline.
Who said that the mayor of the capital should be serious?
To do this, it was necessary to get the directors of the country's largest enterprises fired, revise the tax policy and raise electricity prices. Thus, the "Best Party" managed to stop the decline in production and fill the budget.
At the same time, Gnarr, who received the seat of the capital's mayor, did not deviate from the election program and rested as soon as he could. Four years of his rule were remembered by the people of Reykjavik with unexpected creative actions and funny events.
The mayor organized contests for the fattest cat, led a gay pride parade dressed as a woman, and did many other funny and crazy things. At the same time, Gnarr constantly urged people to be kinder to each other, and officials to become more sincere and decent.
It may seem very strange, but under Jon, Reykjavik has changed a lot for the better. Schools were reorganized, many municipal buildings were renovated, and bike paths were connected to all areas of the city. Real estate in the capital rose in price, and the number of tourists who wanted to visit the city increased annually by 20%.
You could see all sorts of things in the mayor's office
After the end of his term of office, Gnarr did not stand for election, although he was doomed to success.
This is how the most successful and unusual mayor in the history of the Icelandic capital commented on his departure from politics to the press.
Keywords: Iceland | Comedian | Mayor | Punks | Reykjavik | Reform