World Notes ICELAND

Iceland's Althing, or parliament, is the oldest in the world, dating back to the year 930. Still, it is fairly bursting with modern ideas. Since 1983 the assembly has been home to the world's first feminist party to win parliamentary representation, the Women's Alliance. Last week the party came a step closer to wielding real power. On April 25, Icelandic voters ousted the center-right government of Prime Minister Steingrimur Hermannsson and in the process gave the Alliance 10% of the vote.

That increased the women's strength from three to six seats in the 63-seat parliament. The women now hold the balance of power, and will probably end up in a new center-right governing coalition. The Alliance touts a "policy of the practical housewife" in economic matters and is opposed in principle to military alliances. Its members, however, are split over whether Iceland should withdraw from NATO.