01x02 - Episode 2

[bunniefuu]

Now there's new leadership
in my party and a new vision.

Therefore, the Independence Party
and the Social Alliance

have made an election coalition.

I must respond. He's blowing
up the government live on TV...

- Finnbogi, sorry.
- Benedikt, go ahead.

Let's keep it simple.

There will be no coalition
if two conditions aren't met.

Our parties have to get
the majority of votes,

and 90 percent
of registered voters must vote.

Let's take a look at the numbers.

Ólafur, 88.6 percent.




It can't be any narrower.

- It's not 90 percent.
- What?

That's not 90 percent.

Benedikt Ríkarðsson's
promise to rescind participation

if voter turnout didn't reach 90 percent

complicates the process
of forming a government.

Political scientist Ólafur Harðarson
doubts that Benedikt can keep his promise.

Benedikt is in a difficult position

because if he fulfills his promise,
he's, at the same time,

ignoring the will
of the majority of voters.

I think these commanders
are ready for the garden.

I see.

Maybe we should buy more.

Do it properly.

What are you going to do about it?

- We didn't get 90 percent.
- No.

Dad's people made
a deal with the Progressive Party.

Yes, but he can't do anything.
I'm the chairman.

They know what they're doing.
They'll go grassroots,

turn the party against you
and form a government.

Is that what's best for the people?

- I don't know.
- No.

Neither do I.

He's coming.

Good morning.

This election was unusual.

Icelanders awoke to participate
in democracy again.

I asked for a visit from
the clear winner of the election,

Benedikt Ríkarðsson,
chairman of the Independence Party,

to give him the mandate
to form a government.

However...

Benedikt has asked my permission
to say a few words.

Thank you, Madam President.

Good morning.

It's an honor for a politician
to be asked to form a government.

Especially for

a beginner like me.

I'm very touched and grateful.

But as I told the president,

I have to decline.

No, no way.

The reason is simple.
I won't break my promise.

Not without tarnishing the mandate.

I think that's enough for questions.

I respect Benedikt's decision.
It shows integrity.

But I will have to take some time
to decide who I'll ask

to form a government
instead of Benedikt.

Thank you.

Good morning.

WHERE ARE YOU? WE HAVE TO TALK.

Hi, Mom.

Hello, my love.

- What are you drawing?
- A shark.

Great.

Do you want some coffee, my dear?

Why did you sleep here last night?

Not that you aren't always welcome.

Grímur...

I'm just...

We can discuss it later.

And what if he doesn't resign?

This is ridiculous.

I'm not going to sit here
and wait while one man

disables the entire democratic process.

Let's call a general meeting
and find a new chairman.

That will take three months.

If Benedikt refuses to form a government
but is still going to be chairman,

we won't have a functioning
government for three months or more.

Benedikt just secured
our best election of this century,

and you're honestly talking about
getting rid of him.

- What's wrong with you?
- What do you want to do?

Do you want him to lead the opposition
with 40 percent of the votes?

No, I think it's just too much
to call a general meeting.

That's the only way
to change our leadership.

Mom!

- And stop this nonsense.
- What's wrong, dear?

The only way you can become chairman.

Grímur!

We can't trust him.

We've seen it before,
and we're seeing it again right now.

Okay. Great.

Call a general meeting.

But just so you know,

Benedikt will become chairman
again because we control

all the member societies.

We have the youth wing,
the Independent women's wing

and the central committee.

So I don't think you can
even call a general meeting.

That will change

after you've kept the party
out of power for weeks.

Eggert, it will be okay.

Benedikt will come around.

- Sorry, I thought no one was here.
- Hi, Hrefna.

What are you doing?

I came to get my stuff.

- I won't disturb you.
- Wait a minute.

- Are you busy?
- No.

What do you think about all this?

About what?

Did I make a huge mistake?

With your 90 percent obsession?

So it's just an obsession?

Truth be told,

I've never respected you
as much as I do now.

But...

You realize that this calls
for a new election.

Yes.

What are you doing here?

I came to tidy up.

And started reading
old coalition agreements.

I tell you, I've never seen
such vague and dry documents.

Full of empty phrases,
just general enough

to clear everyone
of any liability after the term.

Let me see.

- Just let me talk to Benedikt directly.
- Why?

Why?

I can't always talk to him through you.

Polls show the party
is losing its popularity,

but 76.2 percent want this government.

Benedikt and I work well together.

Professionally.

I need to give him my ideas directly.

Yes, Katla. We're on the same team.

But let me talk to him.

"With its actions,
the government will enable the public

"to make use of
the many opportunities available to it,

"to the benefit of the whole nation."

- Right.
- Right.

Here's one, 2017.

"Equal rights, in their broadest sense,

are an indisputable part
of a fair society."

It's total fluff.

"On the behalf of children
and old age pensioners,

we continue to move forward,
always moving forward."

- "Let's look to the future."
- "Never look back."

"Let's look into every corner."

Yes.

It would be best if the nation itself
would write the coalition agreement,

to get rid of this meaningless nonsense.

Exactly.

On Twitter or something.

You know, people could send in ideas...

Someone tweets,

"The government will allow free
fishing off the coast of Iceland."

Then the ideas that got retweeted the
most would become part of the agreement.

It's more complex than that, of course.

I think it's a brilliant idea.
Let's do it.

But you're not going
to form a government.

But it's a good idea.
Let's give it to the others.

- But wouldn't it be weird if you did that?
- Hrefna...

I can have good ideas,

even though I'm not
forming a government.

Check this out.

Benedikt has started a Twitter
campaign where the nation

writes the coalition agreement
live on the Internet.

"Make all cars electric."

"Ban plastic."

"Make Akureyri the capital."

- What the hell?
- I know.

- There are a thousand tweets already.
- Really?

Well, what should we tell Benedikt?

Whatever we want.

Wait a minute.

I can't find it now.

My son just taught me
how to do this last night.

How about women get 20 percent
higher wages than men for five years?

We only have 280 characters.

Then we do it in two tweets.

Write that Iceland should
accept more refugees.

How many?

As many as we can.

And the swimming pools should be free.

And teenagers should get higher wages.

- Yes.
- Yes.

Benedikt.

- Hello, Óttar.
- Hello.

I just got a ginkgo biloba
tree at the florist's.

Ginkgo biloba?

The only tree that survived
the attack on Hiroshima.

Really?

I feel it signifies
the resilience of life.

Right.

What can I do for you?

Yes, I wondered if I could

ask you a few questions.

- About the Twitter thing.
- Okay, then.

- Great.
- Let's plant the tree.

Everybody seems
to want you as prime minister.

I was checking Twitter.

So, are you accepting the mandate?

Does it look like it?

You've started writing
a coalition agreement.

No.

I just thought it was a great idea.

It's obvious that I'm not the only one.

Won't that confuse
the current negotiations?

I hoped it would help them.

It was my idea.

- Really.
- Hi.

I'm just getting some stuff for Sindri.

- I'm sorry.
- I met up with him yesterday,

and I suggested we post this on Twitter.

Mom, I swear.

I'll call you later.

Sorry.

Can we talk?

I spoke to Oddur Þorri.
He's ready to give you a job.

Are you responsible
for the Twitter fiasco that's...

Did you do it to have
your revenge on me?

Did you tell Benedikt about, you know...

Really? Is this what you're
thinking about right now?

Sorry...

You cheat on me,

and the only thing that matters
to you is what others think.

- I'm sorry.
- This is over.

Don't say that!

- What about Sindri?
- We'll figure it out!

Hrefna.

Yoo-hoo.

Hi.

What's going on?

I should ask you.

He just did what he thought was right.

Steina, I'm not going to become
a minister's aide

if he's not going to become a minister.

If this doesn't work out,
then I have to look for work.

I would wait.

Why?

I just downloaded Twitter.

Handle, "Hólmfríður Sjöfn Egilsdóttir."

You're nuts.

Jesus.

This is nonsense,
the Internet can't run the country.

No, but what he's doing is working.

Everybody's talking about him right now.

Really?

He's playing with us.

I don't know.

I believe that he didn't think
about that at all.

Don't pretend you're stupid.

Then there's this thing.

"Benedikt Ríkarðsson should become
Iceland's next prime minister."

f*ck.

Is this popular?

Someone just tweeted it
and it's already trending.

f*cking hell.

I'm sending an idea to Benedikt.

"""...that ministers
who are found to be corrupt

should be fired."

You know, Mom,

- I'll retweet your idea.
- What does that mean?

A bit lower.

Listen, Dad wants me to invite
the two of you to dinner.

Sorry. What?

Yes, on Friday.

Right.

Don't you think I know you two made
the deal with the Progressive Party?

Okay.

I didn't have anything to do with it.

A little higher.

He just wants to see you.

Right.

Why?

Maybe because his daughter

won the most spectacular
election victory in 30 years?

And he wasn't even there to celebrate.

How do you think he feels?

Isn't he just going to convince
Benedikt to resign?

No, I think he's going to convince
Benedikt to accept the mandate.

He understands he lost.

Can't you allow him to lose
with a little dignity?

Good morning, you.
How's it going? Come here.

Hey, listen...

What should we do?
Everybody's pressuring us.

Hey, there will be a public meeting
outside Benedikt's house.

Why?

To encourage him to form a government.

It's the same woman who tweeted

that he should become
the next prime minister.

Let's see.

Right.

"Hólmfríður Sjöfn Egilsdóttir"
doesn't exist.

Yes, thank you. The
phone lines are open.

People seem to have strong opinions.
Good morning...

It's clear that our system should
allow Benedikt to form a government

and the president wants him to.

He should be prime minister.

Even though he didn't get the 90 percent,
it's just a rule that he made up.

It's his duty to become prime minister.
The nation wants it.

Benedikt.

What?

Dear friends...

Dear friends...

I can't describe

how it warms my heart
to see you all here.

I realize that

it was unfair

to make my participation
in government dependent

on my personal 90 percent goal.

Of course...

We should all strive to maintain
our values and integrity,

but we also have to
listen to our hearts.

My heart tells me that for the first

and only time during this term,

I'm going to betray my word.

It's 11:00. This is RUV News.

Coalition talks between
the Independence Party

and the Social Alliance have commenced.

And the even division of ministries
between parties has been confirmed.

Can I help you?

Hi, Hrefna Halldórs.
I'm here for a job interview.

Yes.

Let me see.

- Please have a seat.
- Thank you.

- Hello, Benedikt.
- Hello there.

I need someone to manage
the agreement-fest.

- The Twitter campaign?
- Not campaign, "fest."

Everybody loved your idea.

- Really?
- Yes.

- When can you come?
- Excuse me.

- Excuse me.
- Hrefna?

He's ready for you.

Hrefna?

Jesus, it's a lion's den.

Thousands of ideas have come in,
but I've checked it out

and it's more or less nonsense.

- It's mostly jokes.
- Yes.

- Let's not be too negative.
- Benedikt, really.

"Make Björk the national tree
of Iceland" is in the top 10.

It's a great idea. I like it.

Of course we have to select and reject.

And if we do that...

We have some idea about
what the nation wants.

More money for healthcare,
that's the most popular tweet.

Many want a new constitution,
many want to separate church and state.

Yes, but just as many people are
asking that they not be separated.

That's the problem.
Public opinion is contradictory.

True, but we'll respect
the wishes of the nation. And...

And we've decided

that Hrefna is going to
go through them for us.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

Grímur, have the
ministers been selected?

- It's still going on.
- Will you become a minister?

It's tradition
that the vice-chairman is a minister.

Is there a particular position
you want more than others?

I won't disclose that.

I'll get it!

Thousands have participated in writing up
the new coalition agreement on Twitter.

The tweets are now over
a hundred thousand.

The agreement has been described as a
democratic revolution by foreign media,

who have covered the event extensively,
having sent journalists to Iceland.

Remember to buy the pink shirt,
not the blue one.

Okay, I promise.

Benni, see my new toy.

Yes...

Hello, darling.

Beautiful.

Steinunn, Benedikt.

I haven't had an
opportunity to tell you,

and I'm ashamed of it,

but congratulations, you two.

Thank you.

Cheers.

I was going to use
the opportunity tonight

to encourage you to form a government,

but since you did it yourself,

we can just enjoy the night.

- Yes.
- Cheers.

Thanks.

Cheers.

Delicious.

Dad, I don't like the salmon.

Just eat the bread, then. That's fine.

I also think it's disgusting.

Then we couldn't raise the tent.

No, Dad couldn't do it. We were kids.

What were we supposed to do?

But we slept well at the hotel.

Remember, when Mom,
Dad and I went to Akureyri...

- No, not this one.
- Yes.

Steinunn, can you
talk to me for a second?

Karen...

Don't you want to show Benedikt
how well you can play the piano?

Yes!

She's very excited to show you.

Do you want more red wine?

No, thank you.

I must compliment you...

This Twitter thing was a nice plot.

It wasn't a plot.

So it was just a coincidence

that the nation wanted Benedikt
as prime minister?

Children learn from their parents.

Anyway...

This is the situation.

The party is divided in two
and I think the two of us,

the more responsible part
of this family should solve it.

I don't see a divided party.

I see a rusty group
of old, grumpy men around you.

But the party is renewing itself.

I've got a prospective minister for you.

Eggert Einarsson.

Are you kidding?

He's the most experienced
member of Althing.

Dad.

Accept it. We are in control.

There is a lot of strain
when you govern a whole country.

Of course.

Can Benedikt handle it?

Dad, this is enough.

You know why he quit his studies abroad.

Yes.

Do you?

Yes.

I know what you're suggesting.

He's a different person today.

I see.

See what?

The man loves honesty,

but hasn't even told his own wife

why he was forced into
a mental hospital in the UK.

Yes, he studied too much
and had to go to a hospital,

and then decided it was
enough and went home.

The medical report doesn't have
him diagnosed for studying too much.

You don't want

that report to become public.

I think people would see the things
you're doing in a very,

very different light then.

Like this Twitter nonsense.

I thought tonight was a lot of fun.

Yes, it was.

It's wonderful,

after everything that's happened.

People can sit together

and connect, sing together as a family.

Yes.

- That's great.
- Family is always family.

Wow, that was deep.

Who said it?

Sartre?

- Sartre...
- Jean-Paul Sartre.

Are you playing solitaire?

I was wondering...

What if we made Eggert a minister?

I know, but he's a strong candidate.

By doing that, we could unify the party.

Yes.

- But it's Eggert.
- Yes, but I have to ask...

Is it better, looking
at the big picture,

if we offer a truce?

Yes...

But we can't have three
middle-aged men from the southwest.

You and Grímur decided
to do things in a new way.

That has its consequences.

I don't think this is
what Grímur wanted.

I don't know.
Grímur has been with me all the way.

Grímur should be able to understand it.

You'd understand it.

What did your dad want?

He's not happy with the Twitter thing.

Hi, I'm Ben Stiller.

I love Iceland, I made a movie there

I gone on vacation there,

I love the people,
I love the country side,

I love how democratic it is.

In fact, it's so democratic

that they've elected the Prime Minister

who takes the most retweeted tweets

and turns them into law

with the #StopMali.

One thing I never like about Iceland

is the whaling.

No.

I knew it wasn't a good idea.

Three million people have watched it.

- This is wonderful.
- They're mocking us.

It's bad for the country,

it's bad for tourism,

it's bad for your reputation
this Icelanders.

And most of all...

it's bad for the whale.

So here's an idea for a policy,

Iceland stop whaling.

If we get enough re-tweets on that,

you can turn it into law.

The whole world is listening.

Are we going to ban whaling?

This is the most popular tweet by far.


We listen to the voters.

You're getting the opinions
of the whole world as well.

And that's great. We have to listen.

- The world's getting smaller.
- But whaling is part of our culture.

A very small part, though.

According to the latest numbers,
it's less than 0.1 percent of the GDP.

- Finnbogi is in the media.
- Let me see.

It's both irresponsible and lazy

to give such an important undertaking

to a motley crew of people
that simply own computers.

Now he's given actors in Hollywood
the power over our sovereignty.

The government doesn't run
the country anymore.

Tweeting computer nerds
all over the world run it.

Grímur Hallgrímsson is here with me.

Grímur, are you making progress
in forming a government?

Yes, it's going very well.
We have a lot to discuss.

But isn't this nation

and the whole world
actually doing it for you on Twitter?

Sure...

But we have to discuss
priorities and how to do it.

- And appoint ministers.
- Yes.

- Have you done it?
- Not yet.

That's just one part of the process.

Are you hoping for a specific ministry?

It's just part of the process.

You're the vice-chairman
of the largest party.

You will be a minister, right?

That's the tradition.

Some say you will become
the interior minister.

We are first and foremost concentrating
on forming a government

that can efficiently solve its issues...

Eggert.

This is Benedikt.
It's regarding the ministries.

Yes?

I was thinking about
offering you a ministry.

I see.

Hi.

- Hi.
- Hi.

How's it going?

It's going great.

I was thinking...

Shouldn't we ask for
the finance ministry?

Yes, that's a good idea.

But I want someone strong
as speaker of Althing.

I was thinking about it.

We were thinking about Eggert,
but I don't know, he was against us.

It should be our strongest person.

You?

No. You.

- What?
- Yes.

We run things together. You run Althing.
I run the government.

Wait...

The speaker does nothing
but make schedules.

- It's a position for fossils.
- We'll change that.

I lead the southwest.


how much work I had to do?

I know.

Is it about a gender quota?

- Who's from the southwest, then?
- Eggert.

Eggert?

He was your opponent in the primaries.

And he lost, came in third place.

Grímur.

We're bringing politics
to a higher level.

We're doing that

by dragging people out
of the trenches in the party.

And you think the best way
to do that is to sacrifice me?

- Here you go.
- Thanks.

My love, don't you want to come
with me to Benni's?

Right? Come on.

Let's put some shoes on.

- Hi.
- Hi.

Sorry I'm late.
I had to bring him with me.

No problem. Come in.

Thank you.

Hi.

Well, hello there!

How are you?

Would you like a cookie?

How did Grímur take it?

What?

Didn't he tell you?

Grímur will be the speaker of Althing.

Yes.

Wasn't he supposed to be a minister?

Not for now.

You might want to talk to him.

Yes, well...

We're kind of...

But yeah... I'll talk to him.

Don't you want to chat?

I'll take care of this young man.

Yes.

Let's do it.

Let's go into the living room.

What's up? Trouble?

Yes.

He...

I wasn't going to discuss that.

I'm sorry to hear that.

What do you want to discuss?

I want to be your aide.

No.

No.

Right...

It's crazy. I've been thinking about it.

You're perfect for the job.

- Yes?
- Yes? Great!

Steinunn.

Meet my new aide.

Right.

Okay.

Wonderful.

Welcome aboard.

- Thank you.
- Come here!

Sindri, my boy.

Come to me.

Nice to see you.

How are you?

- Want some cookies?
- No, thanks.

Dad's full.

Sindri, don't you want to take
your cookies into the kitchen?

Are you just sitting alone in the dark?

Yes, sorry.

I'm sorry I didn't answer.

That's all right.

Benedikt told me.

I'll be his aide.

- Did you tell him...
- Yes.

And was that the reason?

No, Grímur.

Not everything is about you.

Maybe he believes in me.

And it all happens

the same day, by coincidence.

I'll pick him up tomorrow.

Good night, darling.

Good night, Mom.

You haven't really spent any time
with Sindri for months.

He'll be nine years old
when the term is over.

Maybe I can't do it alone.

You're not alone.

Aren't you and Grímur going to...

Grímur is cheating on me.

I don't know what to do.

No.

Maybe we should wait
and see what happens.

You just said I had
to take care of Sindri.

We can work together.

So you won't have to
sacrifice your dream.

Everything will be okay, my dear.

I love you.

We'll stick together.

Attention, please.

Hello.

May I have your attention for a moment?

Robbi, come on.

I know you're all busy.
I'll keep it short.

We finally have a new editor.

You all know who she is.

Please welcome Katla Björnsdóttir.

Thank you. Hello.

- So much for freedom of the press.
- Do you know her?

- Hello, anybody home?
- Hi.

We're home.

Have you eaten?

Do you have anything good?

Dad, can Steinunn eat with us?

Hi.

- Congratulations.
- Thanks.

Are you here for the pizza?

I have to discuss
a very boring thing with your dad.

Can you wait in the living room?

I know, adults are so boring.

I'll count to 100 and then I'm back.

You're not a good cook,
but you'll help me.

What's up?

I've been thinking.

Aren't you bound by an oath
of confidentiality about your patients

even though they were treated abroad?

What do you mean?

Dad says he has a medical report

- from the UK.
- No.

- I don't know...
- No, you don't know where he got it.

Except you were a resident
at that time at that hospital.

Until now it's been the meet-cute story
about Benedikt and me.

I didn't know he would become
a politician and make everyone nuts.

I've counted to 100.

What does the report say?

I can't tell you.

Why didn't you tell me?

You were in love and I didn't want...

- I thought he would tell you.
- You told Dad.

Steinunn...

If the report becomes public,

it's only bad for one person.

You.

Why don't we agree

that you'll leave me and Benedikt alone
and stop doing this?

- See...
- Dad, you're destroying the pizza.

It's all right, Karen.

We'll just start from scratch.

Okay, so will I.

I'm very happy to tell you
that we in the "tweet" government

have been able to form a government,

and we're here to introduce
our new coalition agreement.

We are very happy with the result,

and we want to thank
the nation for taking part.

And everybody in the world, of course.

Yes, as you know, three million people
wanted us to stop whaling.

When we analyzed the locations
of those who supported the tweet,

we found that almost


Yes.

And it was among the most popular ideas.

So, we have a chapter in the agreement
about a whaling ban.

We received a lot of ideas.

Many were probably jokes.
They were very funny, anyway.

And it's great to know
that we are a funny nation,

but we mostly think
Icelanders are a clever nation.

A lot of the ideas were very good.

If you read the agreement,

you'll see that some of the ideas
come straight from Twitter

and behind them are the names
of those who suggested them.

We're very grateful to those
who tweeted and retweeted.

- Questions?
- Yes.

Regarding the ministers...

GOOD LUCK TODAY. MY GOVERNMENT!

Hallgrímur Tómasson,

vice-chairman,
will not be a minister. Why?

The speaker of Althing is

a very important job,
and never more important than now,

and we wanted a really
strong candidate for it.

He's the leader of a district.

Are all the members
of your party happy with this?

Of course everybody
wants to be a minister.

Every politician, at least.

I don't know about others,
but this was the way we chose to do it.

Leo.

You're such a great dog.

Leo.

They have no jurisdiction here.
We're an independent nation.

If they want to ban everything,
they can go home.

Around here, they are persona non grata.