REYKJAVÍK, Iceland—“It may look strange to you for a vice-presidential candidate from the United States to be campaigning in Iceland, while the Democrats and the Republicans are focusing on those states where the race is the closest,” Arrin Hawkins, the SWP candidate for vice president, told more than 100 striking teachers gathered October 25 at their strike headquarters here (pictured above). “That’s because our campaign starts with the world and with the fact that working people share the same interests. That’s why I’m interested in hearing about the teachers strike as it enters its sixth week.”

The day had begun with a sale at HB-Grandi, a fish processing plant in Reykjavík. Workers stopped to talk to Hawkins. One bought a subscription to the Militant and another picked up a copy of the paper.

Hawkins spoke to 50 students at Menntaskólinn vid Hamrahlíd pre-university school, campaigned in working-class neighborhoods, and soapboxed in downtown Reykjavík. She also spoke at public meetings in Reykjavík and the University of Iceland. Fréttabladid, one of the two main dailies in the country, held an interview with the socialist candidate, featuring it prominently in the paper.

—ÓLÖF ANDRA PROPPÉ