Change of government is approaching
Social Democrats win parliamentary election in Iceland
Several opposition parties made strong gains in the parliamentary elections. The previous government partners, on the other hand, are sometimes severely punished.
Iceland is facing a change of government. In the early parliamentary elections on the North Atlantic island, the previously opposition Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) became the strongest force with 20.8 percent of the vote. This represents a doubling of their result compared to the 2021 election, according to preliminary figures published by broadcaster RÚV after all votes cast were counted. Voter turnout on Saturday was around 80 percent.
Governing coalition voted out
While other opposition parties, in addition to the Social Democrats, also recorded strong gains, the three previous government parties fell sharply: Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson’s liberal-conservative Independence Party ended up in at least second place, 1.4 percentage points behind the Social Democrats, despite losses. The Progressive Party, which sits in the middle of the political spectrum, was hit worse, slipping from more than 17 percent to less than 8 percent. The Left-Green movement was even thrown out of parliament after more than 12 percent in 2021. In the future, only six parties instead of eight will be represented in the Althing in Reykjavik – in addition to the Left-Greens, the Pirate Party also failed to pass the five percent hurdle.
A continuation of the government coalition, which was led for almost seven years by the left-wing Green Party Katrín Jakobsdóttir and since April by her successor Benediktsson, is therefore ruled out. For a long time, the coalition had to struggle with major disagreements on issues such as migration and energy, which is why it ultimately collapsed in mid-October.
Social Democrats are likely to receive an exploratory mandate
This means that the Social Democrats, led by their leader Kristrún Frostadóttir, will soon be tasked with forming a government. They are expected to have 15 of the 63 parliamentary mandates alone, which means they are dependent on at least two junior partners for a majority. A center coalition with the Liberal Reform Party (Vidreisn) and the People’s Party would be possible. However, cooperation with Benediktsson’s Independence Party is considered rather unlikely.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
