Iceland goes to the polls on Saturday, October 29, six months earlier than normally envisaged. The right-wing Independence Party and The Pirates protest movement are fighting neck-on-neck for the first place.

Disillusionment and protest

“The Pirates” lead the polls with small intervals since last April, when Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson of the Progressive Party was embroiled in the Panama Papers scandal; he has subsequently resigned following mass demonstrations.

That was not...