Iceland’s Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson speaks to members of the news media as he arrives at the NATO Summit at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2024. On Sunday, he announced the dissolution of his coalition government and called for parliamentary elections to be held at the end of next month. File Photo by Michael Reynolds/EPA-EFE
Oct. 14 (UPI) — Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson of Iceland has dissolved the country’s coalition government and has proposed for snap parliamentary elections to be held next month.
Benediktsson announced the dissolution of the three-party coalition government in a press briefing Sunday. He said that on Monday he would propose to the president for Parliament to be dissolved, with elections to be held at the end of November.
He said in a statement that he was proud of the work and achievements of his government but believes he was “failing myself, party members and the entire nation if I pretended I could continue to lead the government when we cannot reach agreements on the issues that matter most to the people.”
“I see no other option but to leave the next steps in the hands of the voters, where the Independence Party will advocate for the policies that have brought the greatest success to Icelandic society over the years,” he added.
Iceland has been run by a coalition government of the Independence Party, Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement since parliamentary elections of 2017. It survived the most recent parliamentary elections on Sept. 25, 2021.
Benediktsson, Iceland’s former minister of foreign affairs, took office as the Scandinavian country’s prime minister on April 9, after Katrin Jakobsdottir of the Left-Green Movement stepped down.
The announcement comes amid growing discord among the factions of the coalition government, which Benediktsson says represents roadblocks to effective governance.
Svandis Svavarsdottir, chair of the Left-Greens Movement, said the announcement surprised her, as it came a day after the government chairs met to discuss options for combating inflation.
“Nothing pointed to this news at yesterday’s meeting. But this means that the election campaign has begun,” she said in a statement.
“The endurance of the government under the leadership of the Independence Party is exhausted but we, in the Left-Green Movement, are ready, full of enthusiasm, fighting spirit and joy. We look forward to the election campaign, meeting our grassroots and voters. And we’re excited!”