Recordings at a local bar reveal mem­bers of Icelandic parli­ament mak­ing misogynistic and homophobic comments, der­i­ding the MeToo movem­ent and discussing quid pro quo deals, Stundin reveals.

The revelations have shocked Alþingi, the Icelandic parli­ament, in the week of nationwide festi­vities celebrating 100 years of Icelandic sover­eignty. Calls for the resignation of the MPs have alr­eady been made, with female MPs lea­d­ing the charge.

Four MPs from Centre Party (Mið­flokk­ur­inn), including for­mer prime mini­ster Sig­mundur Davíð Gunn­laugs­son and for­mer for­eign mini­ster Gunnar Bragi Sveins­son, were at a bar across the street from the Alþingi build­ing on Tuesday night November 20th.

They met with two MPs from People's Party (Flokkur fólks­ins) and tried to convince them to break ranks in exchange for lucrative political favors. The six MPs go on to make misogynistic comments about female MPs, with one calling People's Party leader Inga Sæland "a rav­ing mad cunt". They also discuss several other female politicians on the basis of their attractiveness, intelligence and mental stability.

On the recording, Mr Sveins­son and fellow party mem­ber Bergþór Ólason talk about what they call rape attempts by a female MP on separate occasions. The female MP has denied the allegations and has received an apology from Mr Sveins­son, who retracts the statem­ents he made on tape.

After the discussion, they make jokes and laugh about the MeToo movem­ent.

Mr Gunn­laugs­son, Mr Sveins­son and Mr Ólason go on to discuss the education mini­ster Lilja Alfreðs­dóttir's sex app­eal and plott­ing revenge aga­inst her.

"Who the fuck is that bitch?" and "Fuck that bitch" they exclaim.

Champions of the He for She movement

In the 2016 Panama Papers leak, Mr Gunn­laugs­son, then prime mini­ster and chairman of Progressive Party (Fram­sókn­ar­flokk­ur­inn), was revealed to have concealed milli­ons of doll­ars' worth of family assets in an offs­hore company. He subsequently resigned as prime mini­ster, left the party, for­med Centre Party and was re-elected to parli­ament.

Mr Gunn­laugs­son and Mr Sveins­son have both championed women's issues in the past. In 2015, Financial Times selected Mr Gunn­laugs­son as one of the world's top fem­in­ist men for supp­ort­ing the UN's He for She campaign. Mr Sveins­son was also a vocal supp­orter of the campaign, address­ing the UN on gender equality and receiving praise from campaign leader and actress Emma Watson.

Mr Sveins­son was also the architect for the UN Bar­bers­hop Conference in 2015, whose aim was to "promote change in how men and boys think and talk about women’s empowerment and gender equality” and "to supp­ort non-sex­ist male attitu­des and behaviours between men.”

Political favors and quid pro quo

The recordings also reveal a plot by Mr Sveins­son, then for­eign mini­ster, to appoint disgraced prime mini­ster Geir Haarde and Left-Green MP Árni Þór Sig­urðs­son as ambassa­dors. The latter appoint­ment, he says on tape, was made to distract from the for­mer.

He also says he expects the favor to appoint Mr Haarde will be repaid in the fut­ure by current finance mini­ster Bjarni Bene­dikts­son, with Mr Sveins­son hop­ing to be appointed ambassa­dor him­self one day. Mr Bene­dikts­son and Mr Haarde are both mem­bers of the Independence Party (Sjálf­stæð­is­flokk­ur­inn).

In the process of expla­in­ing this, Mr Sveins­son also cracks a homophobic joke about a local pop star. 

Mr Sveins­son has apologized for some of the comments, but has said that he will not resign as mem­ber of parli­ament. The four Centre Party MPs, Mr Sveins­son, Mr Gunn­laugs­son, Mr Ólason and Anna Kolbrún Árna­dóttir, the only woman pres­ent, have issued a joint apology for their remarks.