Iceland PM calls new election as coalition government collapses
Al Jazeera
Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson calls election for November, cites policy disagreements as responsible for government collapse.
Icelandic Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson has dissolved the country’s three-party coalition government and called for a new election to take place in November.
In a press conference on Sunday, Benediktsson said problems had mounted within the left-right coalition on issues related to foreign policy, asylum seekers, and energy, public broadcaster RUV reported.
The coalition comprised the right-wing Independence Party, which Benediktsson leads, the Left-Green Movement and the centre-right Progressive Party.
The prime minister said the issues were “less discussed in the last election [in 2021] than need to be discussed now,” emphasising “how different the [Left-Green] Movement’s vision for the future is, compared to what I want to stand for”.
Benediktsson told the Visir news outlet that it would be “best if the government [had] a common vision”.
