The stalemate in Icelandic politics might be clearing up as the Pirate party and the two centrist parties, Restoration and Bright Future, and the small Social democratic alliance, have begun informal talks about the formation of a possible coalition government, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports. At the same time the informal talks between the leaders of the Left-green movement and the conservative Independence parties continue, without any clear solution in sight.
The President of Iceland has announced that Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament will be called back into session on December 6, the local news site visir.is reports, whether or not a new coalition government has been formed at that time. The decision was made at the request of the sitting Prime Minister, who stressed in an announcement that Alþingi had to prepare a budget for the upcoming year.
Read more: Breaking: Left-greens and conservatives meet to discuss an across-the-aisle coalition
Last Thursday, November 24, formal negotiations between the five parties of the left and center broke down, resulting in Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the chairwoman of the Left green movement, to return the mandate to form a government to the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson. Previously the chairman of the conservative Independence party had tried and failed to form a center-right government, handing over his mandate on November 15.
Read more: The stalemate in Icelandic politics: What' going on and why is there no coalition in sight?
When Katrín handed in her mandate many believed it should be passed over to either the chairman of the liberal center-right Restoration, or the Pirate party. However, instead of handing the mandate to a third party leader the President of Iceland decided to urge all party leaders to engage in informal discussions. The first to take up this challenge were the Left greens and the conservatives who began preliminary discussions over the weekend and then embarked upon informal negotiations on Tuesday.
The local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports that the Left greens have emphasized that the Social democratic alliance be a member of any coalition government with the conservatives. The Social democrats, however, have been very hesitant to join such a coalition. The Pirate party has also rejected the idea of joining a coalition with the conservatives. The Left greens and conservatives only have 31 MPs, but need at least 32 to form a majority coalition.
Read more: Analysis: No coalition in sight after Left-greens give up on forming a center-left government
The latest twist in this story is that the Pirate party has begun informal talks with the two centrist parties and the Social democratic alliance. The four parties have 24 MPs, and would need the Left greens to form a government. According to the sources of the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service the four parties hope that the Left greens will join them, bringing the number of MPs in the coalition to 34. While the five parties had already attempted to reach an agreement once, failing, most members of the the leaderships of all five parties had indicated that common ground could still be found.
The stalemate in Icelandic politics might be clearing up as the Pirate party and the two centrist parties, Restoration and Bright Future, and the small Social democratic alliance, have begun informal talks about the formation of a possible coalition government, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports. At the same time the informal talks between the leaders of the Left-green movement and the conservative Independence parties continue, without any clear solution in sight.
The President of Iceland has announced that Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament will be called back into session on December 6, the local news site visir.is reports, whether or not a new coalition government has been formed at that time. The decision was made at the request of the sitting Prime Minister, who stressed in an announcement that Alþingi had to prepare a budget for the upcoming year.
Read more: Breaking: Left-greens and conservatives meet to discuss an across-the-aisle coalition
Last Thursday, November 24, formal negotiations between the five parties of the left and center broke down, resulting in Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the chairwoman of the Left green movement, to return the mandate to form a government to the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson. Previously the chairman of the conservative Independence party had tried and failed to form a center-right government, handing over his mandate on November 15.
Read more: The stalemate in Icelandic politics: What' going on and why is there no coalition in sight?
When Katrín handed in her mandate many believed it should be passed over to either the chairman of the liberal center-right Restoration, or the Pirate party. However, instead of handing the mandate to a third party leader the President of Iceland decided to urge all party leaders to engage in informal discussions. The first to take up this challenge were the Left greens and the conservatives who began preliminary discussions over the weekend and then embarked upon informal negotiations on Tuesday.
The local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports that the Left greens have emphasized that the Social democratic alliance be a member of any coalition government with the conservatives. The Social democrats, however, have been very hesitant to join such a coalition. The Pirate party has also rejected the idea of joining a coalition with the conservatives. The Left greens and conservatives only have 31 MPs, but need at least 32 to form a majority coalition.
Read more: Analysis: No coalition in sight after Left-greens give up on forming a center-left government
The latest twist in this story is that the Pirate party has begun informal talks with the two centrist parties and the Social democratic alliance. The four parties have 24 MPs, and would need the Left greens to form a government. According to the sources of the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service the four parties hope that the Left greens will join them, bringing the number of MPs in the coalition to 34. While the five parties had already attempted to reach an agreement once, failing, most members of the the leaderships of all five parties had indicated that common ground could still be found.
