After three days of informal negotiations with the other two parties on the left and the centrist Progress Party, the leader of the Left Green Movement, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, believes she has a path forward to a assemble a center-left majority government. The President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, has called Katrín to his estate at Bessastaðir at 16:00. He is expected to hand Katrín a formal mandate to form a government at the meeting.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir is one of the most popular politicians in Iceland. Opinion polls have consistently shown that she is the most trusted and best liked politician, with the exception of Guðni Th. Jóhannesson. Her personal popularity has long outstripped that of her party. A September poll showed that 46% of voters preferred her as the next Prime Minister. Only 24% preferred the chairman of the conservative Independence Party to become Prime Minister.
Read more: Analysis: Populist parties, Talk Radio victorious in snap election
The leaders of the three left-wing parties and the centrist Progress Party have been engaged in informal discussions since the Saturday snap elections. These informal discussions have been led by the Left Greens, who are the largest opposition party and the second largest party after the conservative Independence Party.
The Independence Party suffered a decisive defeat in the Saturday elections, losing five MPs. The conservative led majority coalition lost 12 MPs. While the political opposition, led by the Left Greens made only modest gains of 3 MPs, the four opposition parties now hold a one seat majority in parliament. This narrow majority has convinced most political commentators that any coalition government would have to include either the liberal Restoration or one or both of the new populist parties.
The leadership of the Progress Party is reportedly very keen on expanding the coalition to include up to six parties, an idea which enjoys support among some in the Left Green Movement as well. Such a coalition would include the left, The Left Greens, Social Democrats and the anti-establishment Pirate Party, as well as the liberal Restoration and populist People's Party, stretching from the populist right across the political center to the left.
Leaders of the four parties who are expected to begin formal negotiations later today have previously said that the parties would first have to reach a firm agreement amongst each other before negotiations could be expanded to include more parties.
After three days of informal negotiations with the other two parties on the left and the centrist Progress Party, the leader of the Left Green Movement, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, believes she has a path forward to a assemble a center-left majority government. The President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, has called Katrín to his estate at Bessastaðir at 16:00. He is expected to hand Katrín a formal mandate to form a government at the meeting.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir is one of the most popular politicians in Iceland. Opinion polls have consistently shown that she is the most trusted and best liked politician, with the exception of Guðni Th. Jóhannesson. Her personal popularity has long outstripped that of her party. A September poll showed that 46% of voters preferred her as the next Prime Minister. Only 24% preferred the chairman of the conservative Independence Party to become Prime Minister.
Read more: Analysis: Populist parties, Talk Radio victorious in snap election
The leaders of the three left-wing parties and the centrist Progress Party have been engaged in informal discussions since the Saturday snap elections. These informal discussions have been led by the Left Greens, who are the largest opposition party and the second largest party after the conservative Independence Party.
The Independence Party suffered a decisive defeat in the Saturday elections, losing five MPs. The conservative led majority coalition lost 12 MPs. While the political opposition, led by the Left Greens made only modest gains of 3 MPs, the four opposition parties now hold a one seat majority in parliament. This narrow majority has convinced most political commentators that any coalition government would have to include either the liberal Restoration or one or both of the new populist parties.
The leadership of the Progress Party is reportedly very keen on expanding the coalition to include up to six parties, an idea which enjoys support among some in the Left Green Movement as well. Such a coalition would include the left, The Left Greens, Social Democrats and the anti-establishment Pirate Party, as well as the liberal Restoration and populist People's Party, stretching from the populist right across the political center to the left.
Leaders of the four parties who are expected to begin formal negotiations later today have previously said that the parties would first have to reach a firm agreement amongst each other before negotiations could be expanded to include more parties.
