Coolest Mayor in the World!

Hi ya! Wonderful to see you today! Coffee's freshly perked and the selection of doughnuts, muffins and assorted pastries is right out of the virtual oven! Dig in while I tell you about the coolest mayor in the world.

The coolest mayor in the world never went to university, is an ex-taxi driver and used to be in a local punk rock band called ‘Runny Nose’ before he became a comedian and actor. That’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as Jon Gnarr is concerned, a man whose achievements in life are so bizarre that it is truly a wonder how he became the mayor of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital city and home to over half of the nation’s population.

You’d think that a goofy guy has the chance to be a politician only in the movies, but it seems in Reykjavik anything’s possible. Jon Gnarr, who was diagnosed with severe mental retardation and ADHD as a child, started his own political party in 2010 after refusing to join up with any of the existing parties. Funnily enough, he named his party ‘The Best Party’. Simple, yet brilliant, isn’t it? It had to be, because he won his very first election to the office of mayor with 34.7% of the popular vote.

According to what Gnarr told the media, his first real challenge as a politician was deciding between the names ‘The Best Party’ and ‘The Cool Party’. He ultimately settled for the first because it sounds dorkier, which was the vibe he was looking for. Called ‘Besti Flokkurin’ in the local language, the party is a motley group of artists, comedians and punk rockers, none of whom have had any prior experience in city-planning or politics.

The only thing they did do well before the elections was record an Icelandic take on the Tina Turner song ‘Simply the Best’ and use it as their official campaign song. With lines like “We want a city that’s cuddly and clean and cool,” and “Tell the squatters in-charge that it’s time to leave,” the song was both silly and attention-grabbing at the same time. If the goofy mayor is to be believed, the city was being run by ‘blathering loons’ and it’s no surprise at all that the Best Party won.

 Well, Jon and Besti Flokkurin, I wish you well. Better get hold of a gunbrella to fend off polar bears, eh. Iceland does have polar bears, doesn't it? Hmmm...where's my research assistant when you need him. Sounds as though Iceland's national flower is about to change from whatever it is to a five-leaf plant that people can smoke. Watch the population of Iceland take off then! Developers are you paying attention? Can't buck trends especially when they are people-initiated!

See ya, eh!

Bob