Left-Green MP and the party’s parliamentary chair Gudfrídur Lilja Grétarsdóttir said she doesn’t know whether the Social-Democrat-Left-Green coalition in Iceland’s government will survive the debate over Canadian Magma’s acquisition of Icelandic energy company HS.
In addition to Grétarsdóttir, Left-Green MPs Atli Gíslason and Thurídur Backman announced this weekend that they can hardly support continued coalition with the Social Democrats unless the acquisition be revoked, Fréttabladid reports.
“However, I’m going to allow myself to be optimistic for now, simply because the parties have both said they want to protect the country’s natural resources,” Grétarsdóttir said, adding that political will is all that is needed to wrap up this case and it has been lacking.
A committee of five ministers which has been working on finding a solution to the debate will meet at noon today with the parliamentary group chairpersons of both parties and their representatives on the parliament’s Industry Committee.
Thórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir, the Social Democrat parliamentary chair, said she is surprised that Left-Green MPs are making such declarations knowing that the ministerial council is working on solving the problem.
It would have been better to let the government complete its work and present it first, Sveinbjarnardóttir said.
“It doesn’t help the cooperation when single MPs of the Left-Greens come forward and threaten to stop supporting the coalition,” Sveinbjarnardóttir added. She said this is an issue which the Left-Greens must solve among themselves.
The MP said the Magma issue is difficult for both parties. In her opinion it is not the main point whether private companies which have the right to harness energy in Iceland are foreign or domestic.
“The main issue is that private companies shouldn’t hold the majority of shares,” Sveinbjarnardóttir stated, adding that a legislation must be established to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Fréttabladid was unable to reach the chairpersons of the two parties, Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir of the Social Democrats and Finance Minister Steingrímur J. Sigfússon of the Left-Greens, when working on this article.
Click here to read more about the Magma debate.
