Iceland’s coalition gov’t falls, new election in November

Iceland's three-party coalition government collapsed Sunday over disagreements on policy issues, Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson said, with new elections to be held in November.

Benediktsson, head of the conservative Independence Party, told reporters that tensions had mounted within the left-right coalition on issues ranging from foreign policy to asylum seekers and energy.

The coalition had been made up of the Independence Party, the Left-Green Movement and the centre-right Progressive Party.

The issues "were less discussed in the last election than need to be discussed now", Benediktsson said, emphasising "how different the (Left-Green) Movement's vision for the future is, compared to what I want to stand for".

"It is best if the government has a common vision," he told the online media site Visir, adding: "It's disappointing when projects run aground or circumstances change."

He said he would meet Monday with Iceland's President Halla Tomasdottir to submit a proposal for the dissolution of parliament and parliamentary elections at the end of November.

Benediktsson, one of Iceland's most experienced politicians, has previously served as finance minister, foreign minister and prime minister.

He said he had strong backing from his party and planned to stand in the November election.

A Gallup poll published on October 1 showed that the coalition government had the support of just one-fourth of voters, at 24.6 percent, the lowest score Gallup has recorded for an Icelandic government in 30 years.

The three parties combined came in behind the Social Democrats, which were credited with 26.1 percent.

Benediktsson took over as prime minister in April 2024 after Katrin Jakobsdottir, of the Left-Green Movement, resigned to run for the presidency, which she failed to win.

The three parties were re-elected in 2021, winning 38 of the 63 seats in parliament, up from the 33 they had held since the previous election in 2017.

But the Left-Green Movement emerged weaker, losing three seats to hold just eight, while its right-wing partners both posted strong showings.