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| Iceland's president asks opposition Left-Greens to form coalition | Iceland's president asks opposition Left-Greens to form coalition |
| (11 days later) | |
| Iceland’s president has asked the leader of the Left-Green Movement, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, to form a new government, although it came second in Saturday’s snap general election. | Iceland’s president has asked the leader of the Left-Green Movement, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, to form a new government, although it came second in Saturday’s snap general election. |
| The mandate deals a blow to the prime minister, Bjarni Benediktsson of the Independence party – who called the election in September after less than a year in office as a scandal involving his father prompted a government ally to drop out of his ruling coalition. | The mandate deals a blow to the prime minister, Bjarni Benediktsson of the Independence party – who called the election in September after less than a year in office as a scandal involving his father prompted a government ally to drop out of his ruling coalition. |
| “I have a formal mandate to try to form a government,” Jakobsdóttir told reporters after talks with the president, Guðni Jóhannesson. | “I have a formal mandate to try to form a government,” Jakobsdóttir told reporters after talks with the president, Guðni Jóhannesson. |
| Under the Icelandic system, the president – who holds a largely ceremonial role, usually tasks the leader of the biggest party with putting a government together. | Under the Icelandic system, the president – who holds a largely ceremonial role, usually tasks the leader of the biggest party with putting a government together. |
| The former journalist led her party to second place with 11 seats in Saturday’s vote. Benediktsson’s Independence party – which has dominated Icelandic politics for decades – won the most seats, but fell short of a parliamentary majority. | The former journalist led her party to second place with 11 seats in Saturday’s vote. Benediktsson’s Independence party – which has dominated Icelandic politics for decades – won the most seats, but fell short of a parliamentary majority. |
| A Left-Green-led coalition would be possible if they joined forces with the Social Democrats, the Progressive party and the Pirate party. Together, they would hold 32 of parliament’s 63 seats. | A Left-Green-led coalition would be possible if they joined forces with the Social Democrats, the Progressive party and the Pirate party. Together, they would hold 32 of parliament’s 63 seats. |
| If her talks to form a coalition are successful, then the Left-Green Movement and its partners would become the country’s second left-led government since its independence from Denmark in 1944. | If her talks to form a coalition are successful, then the Left-Green Movement and its partners would become the country’s second left-led government since its independence from Denmark in 1944. |
| The Left-Green election campaign was focused on inequality. | The Left-Green election campaign was focused on inequality. |
| The Nordic island of 340,000 people, one of the countries hit hardest by the 2008 financial crisis, has seen an economic rebound spurred by a tourism boom. But a string of political scandals have hurt trust in government in recent years. | The Nordic island of 340,000 people, one of the countries hit hardest by the 2008 financial crisis, has seen an economic rebound spurred by a tourism boom. But a string of political scandals have hurt trust in government in recent years. |
| Jakobsdóttir has promised to make sure Iceland’s economic prosperity, triggered by booming tourism, leads to a boost in public spending on health and education. | Jakobsdóttir has promised to make sure Iceland’s economic prosperity, triggered by booming tourism, leads to a boost in public spending on health and education. |
| Growing public distrust of the elite in recent years has spawned several anti-establishment parties, fragmenting the political landscape and making it increasingly difficult to form a stable government. | Growing public distrust of the elite in recent years has spawned several anti-establishment parties, fragmenting the political landscape and making it increasingly difficult to form a stable government. |
| The Panama Papers, which revealed offshore tax havens, listed more than 600 Icelanders – in a country of just 346,750 people - including Benediktsson. | The Panama Papers, which revealed offshore tax havens, listed more than 600 Icelanders – in a country of just 346,750 people - including Benediktsson. |
| Jakobsdóttir is free of scandal and served as education minister for Iceland’s first left-led government, which took power after the nation’s devastating 2008 economic collapse. | Jakobsdóttir is free of scandal and served as education minister for Iceland’s first left-led government, which took power after the nation’s devastating 2008 economic collapse. |
| “When we are in a situation of having such great distrust in politicians, she’s the person you would like to invite to your home and have coffee with,” said Egill Helgason, a political commentator for public broadcaster RUV. | “When we are in a situation of having such great distrust in politicians, she’s the person you would like to invite to your home and have coffee with,” said Egill Helgason, a political commentator for public broadcaster RUV. |
| Married with three sons, Jakobsdóttir graduated from the University of Iceland and later received a master’s degree in Icelandic literature after writing a thesis on the popular crime writer Arnaldur Indriðason. | Married with three sons, Jakobsdóttir graduated from the University of Iceland and later received a master’s degree in Icelandic literature after writing a thesis on the popular crime writer Arnaldur Indriðason. |
| Surveys suggest she garners most of her support from voters aged between 18-29, in particular women, and that she appeals to an electorate beyond the Left-Green Movement’s base. | Surveys suggest she garners most of her support from voters aged between 18-29, in particular women, and that she appeals to an electorate beyond the Left-Green Movement’s base. |
| “I think she would be a strong leader ... because she has been a member of the parliament for a long time among corrupt people and still stayed true to herself,” said Sólkatla Ólafsdóttir, a 26-year-old supporter of the anti-establishment Pirates party. | “I think she would be a strong leader ... because she has been a member of the parliament for a long time among corrupt people and still stayed true to herself,” said Sólkatla Ólafsdóttir, a 26-year-old supporter of the anti-establishment Pirates party. |
| This article was amended on 6 November 2017 to clarify that, if it comes about, the Left-Green Movement coalition would become the country’s second left-led, not left-leaning, government since its independence from Denmark in 1944. | This article was amended on 6 November 2017 to clarify that, if it comes about, the Left-Green Movement coalition would become the country’s second left-led, not left-leaning, government since its independence from Denmark in 1944. |
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