Original subtitles

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% of registered voters must vote.

Let's take a look at the numbers.

Olafur, 88.6%.

89.4% in total, it's just 0.6% short of 90%.

It can't be any narrower.

- It's not 90%. - What?

That's not 90%.

Benedikt Rikardsson's promise

to rescind participation

if voter turnout didn't reach 90%

complicates the process of forming a government.

Political scientist Olafur Hardarson 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%. - 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 Rikardsson, 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.

Uh, 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.

Um, Grimur...

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% 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.

Grimur!

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% 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% 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? - Mmm.

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% 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.

Benedikt.

- Hello, Ottar. - 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 Thorri. 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.

Coo-coo!

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, "Holmfridur Sjofn Egilsdottir."

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 Rikardsson should become

"Iceland's next prime minister."

Fuck.

Is this popular?

Someone just tweeted it and it's already trending.

Fucking hell.

I'm sending an idea to Benedikt.

Hmm.

"...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?

Uh...

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?

Hey.

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.

"Holmfridur Sjofn Egilsdottir" 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%,

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...

Um...

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% 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 Halldors. 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 Bjork 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.

Grimur, 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.

Hmm.

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.

- Mmm, delicious. - Mmm.

Dad... Mmm.

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.

Oh.

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?

- Oh, Sartre... - Jean-Paul Sartre.

Are you playing solitaire?

- I was wondering... - Hmm?

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 Grimur decided to do things in a new way.

That has its consequences.

I don't think this is what Grimur wanted.

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

Grimur 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've gone on vacation there.

I love the people, I love the countryside.

I love how democratic it is.

In fact, it's so democratic that they've elected a prime minister

who takes the most retweeted tweets and turns them into law

with the hashtag "sattmali."

One thing I never liked 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 as 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 retweets on that,

you can turn it into a law.

The whole world is listening.

Are we going to ban whaling?

This is the most popular tweet by far. 500,000 retweets.

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% 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.

Grimur Hallgrimsson is here with me.

Grimur, 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?

Uh...

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.

92% voted. Do you know 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.

Grimur.

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 Grimur take it?

What?

Didn't he tell you?

Grimur 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? Great!

Steinunn.

Meet my new aide.

Right.

Okay.

Wonderful.

Welcome aboard.

- Thank you. - Come here!

Sindri, my boy.

Come to me.

Ah, 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, Grimur.

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 Grimur going to...

Grimur 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 Bjornsdottir.

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 20,000 were from Iceland.

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!

Hallgrimur Tomasson,

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.