Was Reykjavik’s Former Mayor the Coolest Politician in the World?
Jón Gnarr Kristinsson, former mayor of Iceland’s capital, stands out due to his peculiar attitude and cheekiness.
How many of us would gladly trade our city’s respective mayors for a guy who doesn’t hesitate to dress up as Obi-Wan Kenobi to inaugurate a local film festival, and whose past includes jobs as a taxi driver, comedian and the bass player for a punk rock band?
Enter Jón Gnarr Kristinsson, the snazzy and somewhat controversial former mayor of the Icelandic capital, who leads a unique political party called “The Best Party.” In June of 2010, under the premise that “If politicians don’t stop acting like clowns, it’s time that clowns start acting like politicians,” Gnarr took office in Reykjavik.
Among some of his most outlandish shenanigans, we can’t leave aside the moment he spoke out in favor of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot by dressing up as a girl (in the fashion of the group’s members) during the gay pride parade; or when he dressed up as a Star Wars character for the inauguration of Reykjavik’s International Film Festival. But not all of his time in office was for show; Gnarr also adopted novel ideas like updating his political activities to Facebook on a daily basis.
While not everything was jolly during Gnarr’s time in office, the fact is that this unique character still holds the support of the majority —albeit not by much—and, in any case, few would be able to deny that he could be the coolest mayor on the planet.
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