Lilja Mósesdóttir, MP for the Left-Greens, said that according to her estimate, the outcome of the High Court voting in parliament on Tuesday is an indication of the majority of MPs not being prepared to settle up the banking collapse.
“I want elections. Although many people doubt that the nation can handle elections now I want them to take place immediately following the outcome of Althingi’s voting,” Mósesdóttir told Fréttabladid.
“There will be no permanent restoration without a settlement. Therefore it is important for the parliament to renew its authority,” Mósesdóttir stated. Her party, the Left-Greens, forms the coalition government with the Social Democrats.
Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, chairman of the Progressive Party’s parliamentary group, agrees with Mósesdóttir, calling for elections in the upcoming winter.
He stated many members of his party are of the same opinion but iterated that the matter has not been formally discussed within the party.
“I believe the government has failed and not tackled the important issues that have to be dealt with. MPs also need a clear authority and at the same time people can vote on whether they want to continue with the government’s confusing policy,” Sveinsson commented.
Valgerdur Bjarnadóttir of the Social Democrats does not believe the outcome of the voting is a reason for new elections, although other issues might justify them.
“It is for example a serious matter if we cannot solve the injustice of the fisheries control system and this skjaldborg (“wall of shields”) is a mere shadow of what it was supposed to be,” Bjarnadóttir said.
She added that if the government isn’t capable of handling these projects, there is certainly a reason for new elections.
One of the promises made by the current government was to establish a skjaldborg, a wall of shields, around the households in the country.
Now more people than ever are losing their homes and a group of people slept outside the parliamentary building last night in protest.
Sigmundur Ernir Rúnarsson, also a Social Democrat, has announced that his support for the current coalition is based on the condition that it manages to get the wheels of the economy turning. He said the government has a few weeks to work on that issue.
He said he is prepared for new elections but doubts that they will be useful for the nation, especially if the government does manage to boost the economy.
Ólöf Nordal, vice-chair of the Independence Party, recently called for elections as soon as possible; the same has been demanded by the political party The Movement and the board of the Liberal Party.
Click here to read more about the High Court voting at Althingi, concluding that former Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde is to face charges for negligence in office but no other ministers, and the reactions to it.
