In a significant but expected political development, Kristrún Frostadóttir, leader of the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin), has been given a mandate to form a new government by President of Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir.
The discussion was held at Bessastaðir, the official residence of the President of Iceland. Halla only began her Presidential term in August of this year, making this her first time overseeing a change in government.
This afternoon, Kristrún will be holding discussions with the Chairperson of the Liberal Reform Party (Viðreisn), Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, and the Chair of the People’s Party (Flokkur fólksins), Inga Sæland. She will need the cooperation of both to form the most likely coalition. Viðreisn and the People’s Party are the fastest growing parties compared to the last election, despite the Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) still being the second largest party overall.
If, in the event Kristrún is unable to reach an agreement, there is a possibility that the President might then pass the mandate over to the current Prime Minister, Bjarni Benediktsson. However, Kristrún made clear to RUV this morning that she is optimistic the three parties will reach a consensus, stating; “I wouldn’t be going on this journey unless I believed I could succeed.”
