At a press conference held just moments ago, representatives of the Progressive Party, the Reform Party, the Social Democrats and the Pirate Party announced that they would now begin formal talks with one another for the formation of a new city council majority in Reykjavík.
The announcement is not exactly surprising, especially in light of yesterday’s news that Þórdís Lóa Þórhallsdóttir, the head of the list for the Reform Party in Reykjavík, had announced her party would in fact align with their previous partners in the last coalition: the Social Democrats and the Pirates.
As there are only 23 seats on Reykjavík City Council, the possible coalitions were very limited. With the Reform Party ruling out an alliance to the right, the Pirates ruling out aligning with the Independence Party, the Socialists ruling out aligning with the Reform Party, and the Left-Greens ruling out being a part of any majority, the Progressives choosing to join up with the Social Democrats, the Pirates and the Reform Party was to be expected.
However, the question remains as to whether these talks will be successful. All four of these parties agree on going forward with the bus rapid transit system Borgarlínan, and further development of housing. However, both Þórdís Lóa and Einar Þorsteinsson, who leads the Progressive Party list for Reykjavík, emphasised at today’s press conference that their voters had given them a clear message for changes in the city. Those changes, whatever they may be, can be expected to be a part of the upcoming talks.
There is also the question of who the next mayor will be. Neither Dagur B. Eggertsson, Reykjavík’s outgoing mayor and the leader of the Social Democrat list for Reykjavík, nor Einar have demanded the seat as a condition for partnership. It should also not be ruled out that either Þórdís Lóa or Dóra Björt of the Pirate Party could just as well be mayor.
While they said that they will take their time in their talks, the last meeting of the outgoing city council will be on June 1st, and the new city council must formally begin on June 7th.
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