Iceland looks set to get its first ever socialist majority government.

The country is going to the polls today, three months after a long-standing conservative administration collapsed because of the financial crisis. The election has been brought forward from 2011 and opinion polls suggest the winners will be the caretaker minority coalition government. The Prime Minister is likely to be Johanna Sigurdardottir, the country’s first female prime minister and the world’s first openly gay leader. The coalition is made up of her Social Democrat Alliance and the Left-Green Party. Icelanders took to the streets in January after their banks became some of the early casualties of the global economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund came to the rescue with a multi billion-euro bailout plan. Observers say if they win, the Social Democrat and left-Green parties are likely to start talks with the European Union on possible membership.More about: Iceland

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