RÚV reports that Left-Green Movement Leader Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Independence Party Leader Bjarni Benediktsson have informed Icelandic President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson that an agreement has been reached to look into the possibility of forming a coalition between these two parties. A statement from the president’s office reads, “The president is closely following the development of these discussions and anticipates that a conclusion regarding the formation of a government will be reached shortly.”
The statement, furthermore, indicates that if the two parties reach a compromise, they will then contact other parties about participation in that government.
The party groups of both parties held meetings this morning. Following his party’s meeting, Bjarni confessed he was not fond of the idea of a minority government, but the two parties combined only have 31 MPs out of Alþingi’s 63 members (21 from the Independence Party and ten from the Left-Green Movement).
Informal talks between the Independence Party, the Reform Party and Bright Future took place over the weekend, leading many to believe that a three-party coalition was in the making.
The Left-Green Movement has indicated a willingness to bring the Social Democratic Alliance into negotiations between the Left-Greens and Independents. The Independence Party, on the other hand, would prefer to work with the Progressive Party, but working with the Progressives has proven an idea hard to sell.
Meanwhile, the Icelandic nation patiently sits at the bar, waiting since the October 29 parliamentary election to see what sort of coalition cocktail will successfully be mixed.
