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Iceland's president asks opposition Left-Greens to form coalition
Source: The Guardian and agencies
Iceland's president asks opposition Left-Greens to form coalition
President takes unusual step of asking leader of second largest party to form coalition following Saturday’s snap general election
Staff and agencies in Reykjavik
Thursday 2 November 2017 20.56 GMT
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.
“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.
-snip-
President takes unusual step of asking leader of second largest party to form coalition following Saturday’s snap general election
Staff and agencies in Reykjavik
Thursday 2 November 2017 20.56 GMT
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.
“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.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/02/iceland-president-left-greens-form-coalition