As Icelandic voters prepared for the upcoming 2024 presidential elections on 1 June, an unconventional new candidate entered the race: Snæfellsjökull. Yes, it’s a glacier. Snow joke!
On paper, Snæfellsjökull ticks all the boxes for rules surrounding presidential nominations: an Icelandic president must be at least 35 years old with no criminal record. To which you could add, the glacier has been a beacon of stability and perseverance in the face of challenge and hardship for millennia.
With this in mind, environmental activists aimed to position the climate crisis centre stage in the forthcoming election by setting out to have Snæfellsjökull’s glacier included on the ballot. According to a press release sent by the candidate’s campaign team, reports grapevine.is, Snæfellsjökull Glacier will run for presidential office in 2024. Signifying the values of environmental consciousness and global unity, the Snæfellsjökull election campaign aims to challenge the status quo and “elect a candidate that symbolizes endurance, resilience, and global interconnectedness.”
The campaign collective planned to establish a council of experts to give voice to Snæfellsjökull in the event it became president, with climate scientists, artists and glaciologists representing its different interests.
Although they ultimately failed to garner sufficient signatures in support of the nomination, the team behind the candidacy bid say it’s just the beginning.
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