Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the president of Iceland, will not be seeking a re-election to a sixth term, according to an announcement from the office of the President, the local news site visir.is reports. The announcement is the second bombshell to hit the presidential election in short succession. Yesterday the former Prime Minister of Iceland, Davíð Oddsson announced he was entering the race.
Read more: Analysis: Presidential race heats up as former PM enters the race, a bomb thrown into the race
Davíð and Ólafur Ragnar are two of the most influential politicians of the past quarter century in Iceland, and bitter rivals since the 1980s. Some political commentators had argued the entry of Davíð into the race had therefore reshaped the election campaign, making it more political, while at the same time creating a stark contrast for voters between the past, represented by the two elder statesmen and the future, represented by professor of history Guðni Th. Jóhannesson and environmental activist and author Andri Snær Magnason.
Ólafur had suggested in an interview on Sunday that the entry of Davíð into the race might force him to reconsider his run. Commentators who spoke to the local newspaper Fréttablaðið prior to todays announcement had speculated he would announce his withdrawal soon, with some speculating that he might use the entry of Davíð as an excuse to pull out to avoid scrutiny over his wife’s connections to off-shore companies in tax-havens.
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the president of Iceland, will not be seeking a re-election to a sixth term, according to an announcement from the office of the President, the local news site visir.is reports. The announcement is the second bombshell to hit the presidential election in short succession. Yesterday the former Prime Minister of Iceland, Davíð Oddsson announced he was entering the race.
Read more: Analysis: Presidential race heats up as former PM enters the race, a bomb thrown into the race
Davíð and Ólafur Ragnar are two of the most influential politicians of the past quarter century in Iceland, and bitter rivals since the 1980s. Some political commentators had argued the entry of Davíð into the race had therefore reshaped the election campaign, making it more political, while at the same time creating a stark contrast for voters between the past, represented by the two elder statesmen and the future, represented by professor of history Guðni Th. Jóhannesson and environmental activist and author Andri Snær Magnason.
Ólafur had suggested in an interview on Sunday that the entry of Davíð into the race might force him to reconsider his run. Commentators who spoke to the local newspaper Fréttablaðið prior to todays announcement had speculated he would announce his withdrawal soon, with some speculating that he might use the entry of Davíð as an excuse to pull out to avoid scrutiny over his wife’s connections to off-shore companies in tax-havens.
