Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson told reporters he has few worries about a proposed no confidence vote against him, even while criticism against him grows.
The Prime Minister has yet to respond to repeated interview requests from public broadcasting network RÚV, but did grant an interview to none other than radio station Útvarp Saga. During this interview, he expressed a lack of real concern for the increasing criticism against him.
“I like [a no confidence proposal] just fine if people want to spend time in parliament working on that,” he said, adding that such a discussion would open up the possibility of talking about the failures of the previous government.
The Prime Minister has been on the defensive lately, recently granting an interview with Fréttablaðið, wherein he contended that he had no legal nor ethical obligation to disclose to parliament the financial activities of his wife.
As reported, Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir, the wife of Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, made a post to Facebook revealing that she has been keeping an undisclosed amount of family inheritance money in a company called Wintris Inc. This money is kept in the British Virgin Islands, a popular tax haven, but Anna contends that the Icelandic tax office is well aware of this money, and everything is completely legal and above board.
However, Wintris Inc. is also a claimant against Landsbanki Íslands, Glitnir and Kaupthing to the tune of about half a billion ISK. Furthermore, Kjarninn has repeatedly asked for information regarding assets owned by government officials or members of their family that are being kept overseas, to no avail.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly advocated for the strength of the indexed Icelandic króna and the importance of keeping assets within the country. In addition, he has also repeatedly described bank claimants as “vultures” who are potentially damaging to the Icelandic economy.
As such, members of the opposition have been having serious discussions about submitting a no confidence proposal against the Prime Minister, calling for his resignation. Parliament is currently on Easter holiday – whether this proposal will be submitted after the holiday remains to be seen.
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