No agreement will be reached on a new coalition government before Christmas, and possibly not before next spring, Icelandic pundits now predict. Currently the previous government continues to sit as an interim government. A new minority government will likely be formed in January, unless an agreement on the formation of a majority coalition can be reached.
This, however, seems increasingly unlikely as formal negotiations between the parties have repeatedly failed in deadlock over disagreement over taxes and reforms to the fishing and agricultural systems. Despite this the leaders of the parties in Parliament and ordinary MPs have not given up on finding common ground, and informal negotiations between the parties have now moved to the hallways of the house of parliament, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports.
Read more: The stalemate in Icelandic politics: What' going on and why is there no coalition in sight?
The sitting Prime Minister, Sigurður Ingi Jóhannesson, told RÚV that a minority government is the likeliest solution after the leaders of the three largest parties in Parliament, the chairman of the Conservative party, the chairwoman of the Left Green Movement and the leader of the Pirate party all failed to form center-right, center-left or across-the-aisle coalitions. Sigurður Ingi predicted that a minority government, which would have to form majorities to pass important legislation, might work well in the current political climate and encourage all parties to work together.
Last week Birgitta Jónsdóttir, the leader of the Pirate party returned the mandate to form a government to the President of Iceland. Previously the chairman of the Independence party, Bjarni Benediktsson, and the chairwoman of the Left-green movement, Katrín Jakobsdóttir had been given the mandate, but failed to form a government. The Pirate party believed it could succeed in forming a center-left government, which the Left-green movement had previously failed at doing. The main disagreements had to do with reforms to the fisheries- and agricultural systems and new taxes needed to finance investments in health-care, education and the welfare system. The Left-green movement wanted tax hikes which the centrist parties were unwilling to agree to.
No agreement will be reached on a new coalition government before Christmas, and possibly not before next spring, Icelandic pundits now predict. Currently the previous government continues to sit as an interim government. A new minority government will likely be formed in January, unless an agreement on the formation of a majority coalition can be reached.
This, however, seems increasingly unlikely as formal negotiations between the parties have repeatedly failed in deadlock over disagreement over taxes and reforms to the fishing and agricultural systems. Despite this the leaders of the parties in Parliament and ordinary MPs have not given up on finding common ground, and informal negotiations between the parties have now moved to the hallways of the house of parliament, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports.
Read more: The stalemate in Icelandic politics: What' going on and why is there no coalition in sight?
The sitting Prime Minister, Sigurður Ingi Jóhannesson, told RÚV that a minority government is the likeliest solution after the leaders of the three largest parties in Parliament, the chairman of the Conservative party, the chairwoman of the Left Green Movement and the leader of the Pirate party all failed to form center-right, center-left or across-the-aisle coalitions. Sigurður Ingi predicted that a minority government, which would have to form majorities to pass important legislation, might work well in the current political climate and encourage all parties to work together.
Last week Birgitta Jónsdóttir, the leader of the Pirate party returned the mandate to form a government to the President of Iceland. Previously the chairman of the Independence party, Bjarni Benediktsson, and the chairwoman of the Left-green movement, Katrín Jakobsdóttir had been given the mandate, but failed to form a government. The Pirate party believed it could succeed in forming a center-left government, which the Left-green movement had previously failed at doing. The main disagreements had to do with reforms to the fisheries- and agricultural systems and new taxes needed to finance investments in health-care, education and the welfare system. The Left-green movement wanted tax hikes which the centrist parties were unwilling to agree to.
