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MPs of the opposition’s Independence and Progressive Parties have allegedly been considering declaring a vote of no confidence on the government in recent weeks. Developments took a new turn when former Left-Green MP Jón Bjarnason abandoned the coalition last week.
From Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament. Photo: Páll Kjartansson.
“Then people thought it natural to test the government’s strength,” a Progressive Party MP, who would not be named, told visir.is.
An unnamed Independence Party MP added that the move was timely as a vote of no confidence was last declared on the government after the second referendum on Icesave two years ago, by the party’s chair Bjarni Benediktsson.
The opposition agrees that the EFTA Court’s verdict yesterday became yet another motive for declaring a vote of no confidence on the government, although it would not be the main reason for making such a move.
The government is currently backed by only 30 out of 63 MPs.
Click here to read more about Icesave and here to read about Jón Bjarnason resigning and the weak position of the Social Democrat-Left-Green coalition.
ESA
Iceland is among the top five OECD-countries where immigrants help to boost the economy and increase nation-wide production by approximately 1 percent, according to a new report from the OECD.
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Neither Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson nor Minister of the Interior Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir have responded to Edward Snowden’s request for a political asylum in Iceland, as spokesperson for Wikileaks Kristinn Hrafnsson wrote in a letter published in Fréttablaðið today.
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The first fin whale to be hunted in Iceland this season was killed by the crew of whaling vessel Hvalur 8 yesterday evening. The vessel, which set out yesterday along with Hvalur 9, is expected to unload the catch today.
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U.S. negotiator Lee C. Buchheit, who led Iceland’s last Icesave negotiation in 2010, met with Minister of Finance Bjarni Benediktsson last week to discuss Iceland’s planned talks with creditors of the banks, according to Fréttablaðið’s sources.
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The 2013 June-July issue of Iceland Review is out. Themed ‘We Are Young’ the magazine celebrates the arrival of summer by interviewing young energetic Icelanders who excel in art, sports, business and politics—and Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, the youngest PM in the republic’s history and the world’s youngest ruling state leader. Click here to take a look at a selection of the current issue and here to subscribe to the magazine.
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REVIEWS
amiina
The road to Höfn, a 1,690-person harbor town by the fjord Hornafjörður, is lined with reindeer. Whole herds of the wild horned animals rest peacefully on withered pastures, grace next to sheep and horses and bounce along the road. Soon, Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier and the region’s biggest attraction, comes into view. Looming over Höfn, its outlet glaciers flow down from the mountains on which the bright white icecap rests.
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Sin Fang will celebrate the release of his third album with a release concert in Iðnó on June 12. Flowers was released in February by Morr Music and has been well received by music enthusiasts and critics alike. The concert will be supported by Vök, this year’s winners of the Icelandic Music Experiments.
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