Prime Minister and leader of Iceland’s Independence Party Geir H. Haarde said in an interview on RÚV’s political chat program Silfur Egils yesterday that former Mayor of Reykjavík Vilhjálmur Th. Vilhjálmsson should announce his future plans this week.
Vilhjálmsson, who leads the Independence Party in Reykjavík City and had planned to become mayor again after one year, has been criticized for his part in the Reykjavík Energy Invest (REI) and Geysir Green Energy (GGE) merger and many have called for his resignation.
Vilhjálmsson announced last week that he would not resign and said he needed time to think about his situation before he decided whether or not he would become mayor again after one year.
Since then most Independence Party councilpersons have declared support for Vilhjálmsson, Fréttabladid reports.
But impatience for Vilhjálmsson to make a decision is growing. MP for the Independence Party Bjarni Benediktsson has said that the problem Reykjavík City Council is facing “is not of the kind that can just hang and wait for weeks.”
PM Haarde said on Silfur Egils yesterday that the Independence Party representatives in Reykjavík City were all “adults” who should be able to solve their problems on their own and reach a decision on who should replace Vilhjálmsson as leader and future mayor if he decided to give up his post.
Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir has been named as a likely candidate since she holds the second seat on the Independent’s list in Reykjavík City. Fréttabladid was unable to reach Kristjánsdóttir and Vilhjálmsson for comments on this matter.
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