Three-party coalition govt. in Iceland collapses, new election set for November

Iceland’s three-party coalition government collapsed on Sunday over disagreements on policy issues, Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson said, with new elections to be held in November.

Mr. Benediktsson, head of the conservative Independence Party, told presspersons that tensions had mounted within the left-right coalition on issues ranging from foreign policy to asylum seekers and energy.

The coalition had been made up of the Independence Party, the Left-Green Movement and the centre-right Progressive Party.

The issues “were less discussed in the last election than need to be discussed now”, Mr. Benediktsson said, emphasising “how different the (Left-Green) Movement’s vision for the future is, compared to what I want to stand for”.

“It is best if the government has a common vision,” he told the online media site Visir , adding: “It’s disappointing when projects run aground or circumstances change.”

He said he would meet on Monday with Iceland’s President Halla Tomasdottir to submit a proposal for the dissolution of Parliament and parliamentary elections at the end of November.

Mr. Benediktsson took over as Prime Minister in April 2024 after Katrin Jakobsdottir.

Published - October 14, 2024 09:09 am IST