Informal talks on the formation of a coalition government bridging the two polar opposites of Icelandic politics have broken down, the local news site visir.is reports. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the chairwoman of the Left-green movement and Bjarni Benediktsson, the chairman of the conservative Independence party have been engaged in informal talks since Tuesday, searching for possible common ground between the two parties. Bjarni Benediktsson told visir.is that the current situation could easily be described as a government crisis.
Read more: The stalemate in Icelandic politics: What' going on and why is there no coalition in sight?
Bjarni told visir.is that he was deeply disappointed the negotiations had failed to produce an agreement, although he felt the discussions had been fruitful: I would like to stress that it was extremely important that the two largest parties in parliament sit down and discuss the political situation, and I think it was good for both parties that we had these conversations.
Pundits have pointed out that after Bjarni failed to convince the two centrist parties to join the conservatives either in a three party coalition or a four party coalition with the center-right Progress party, his only option to ensure a place for the conservative Independence party in a new government was to find common ground with the left-greens.
Read more: Left-greens and conservatives continue talks as Pirate party begins talks with centrist parties
Now the focus shifts to the renewed attempts by the center and left-wing parties to form a five party center-left coalition. These talks had previously broken down over disagreement on new taxes on the wealthy, championed by the Left-greens but opposed by the centrist Restoration.
Informal talks on the formation of a coalition government bridging the two polar opposites of Icelandic politics have broken down, the local news site visir.is reports. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the chairwoman of the Left-green movement and Bjarni Benediktsson, the chairman of the conservative Independence party have been engaged in informal talks since Tuesday, searching for possible common ground between the two parties. Bjarni Benediktsson told visir.is that the current situation could easily be described as a government crisis.
Read more: The stalemate in Icelandic politics: What' going on and why is there no coalition in sight?
Bjarni told visir.is that he was deeply disappointed the negotiations had failed to produce an agreement, although he felt the discussions had been fruitful: I would like to stress that it was extremely important that the two largest parties in parliament sit down and discuss the political situation, and I think it was good for both parties that we had these conversations.
Pundits have pointed out that after Bjarni failed to convince the two centrist parties to join the conservatives either in a three party coalition or a four party coalition with the center-right Progress party, his only option to ensure a place for the conservative Independence party in a new government was to find common ground with the left-greens.
Read more: Left-greens and conservatives continue talks as Pirate party begins talks with centrist parties
Now the focus shifts to the renewed attempts by the center and left-wing parties to form a five party center-left coalition. These talks had previously broken down over disagreement on new taxes on the wealthy, championed by the Left-greens but opposed by the centrist Restoration.
