Mayor Jón Gnarr has been accused by the opposition of breaking ethical guidelines in the use of his hydrogen-powered car.
The Leftist-Greens and the Independence Party contend that making a deal with a private company to have a car for his official use breaks the ethical guidelines of the office of mayor. They add furthermore that it appears to go against transparency and keeping the office of the mayor in the public domain.
The mayor’s hydrogen-powered car is a converted Ford Explorer, which he received on loan from the company Íslenska Nýorku, which is itself owned by “some public offices and a third foreign company”, Vísir reports.
At the time that Gnarr received the car, he told reporters, “I’d like to set an example and try this out, and take part in this. I think it’s very important, both for the city and for Icelanders as a whole, to take part in the development of such vehicles. That we are participants and not just spectators. We have every opportunity to be an example for other nations.”
In accepting the car, he returned the petrol-drinking SUV that the mayoral office – and many other high-ranking public officials in Iceland – usually use for official purposes.