According to a statement from the office of the Prime Minister, the President ignored both a request for meeting before his veto announcement, attached to which were documents outlining the possible consequences of a veto.
Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir had delivered on Monday afternoon a written letter requesting a meeting with President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson to discuss his impending decision. Attached to this letter was an outline detailing the possible consequence of a veto. The request for a meeting was subsequently ignored. Furthermore, the president opted to not inform the government ahead of time what his decision would be.
The president, for his part, told reporters that he doesn’t regret his decision to veto the law, which is now up for referendum, tentatively set for 20 February. He is now on his way to India to, among other things, accept the Nehru Award.