From Iceland — President Was Not Threatened, Says Prime Minister

President Was Not Threatened, Says Prime Minister

Published February 25, 2011

Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir denied that there was any truth to remarks President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson made last week that he had been threatened with being removed from office if he did not sign the Icesave agreement.
As Vísir reports, last week the president said that the decision to veto the Icesave bill had been a difficult one, for among other reasons because he had been threatened with being removed from office if he didn’t.
Conservative MP Sigurður Kári Kristjánsson, bringing the matter up in parliament, said that he did not believe the president would make such a statement for no reason, and asked the prime minister point-blank if she had threatened the president with resignation.
The prime minister’s response was terse: “The answer is no.”
“I hope that the distinguished prime minister is being honest with parliament,” Sigurður Kári responded. “The answer was certainly clear enough.”
The prime minister said furthermore that Sigurður Kári should go directly to the president’s home in Bessastaðir and ask him to explain the remarks, “as I have no further information on how the president came to this conclusion [that he had been threatened].”
The president has as yet not commented on the prime minister’s response.
Related:
Most Icelanders Would Vote Yes On Icesave Referendum
Reactions To Icesave Veto
President Vetoes Icesave 3 – Referendum Imminent

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