President: Not A Repeat Of 2012

President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is still undecided on whether or not to run, but says his current indecision is not at all like his indecision in 2012.

Speaking on the Bylgjan radio show Sprengisandur this morning, the president clarified his position a bit on the hows and whys of running or not running for office. The president said he still has not decided on whether or not he will run for a sixth term in office, after spending 20 years as Iceland’s head of state, but may address the matter in his New Year’s Address.

Comparisons have been made between the president’s reticence now and in 2012, when he hinted at both running and not running for weeks before making a formal announcement. The president has been on the fence about a sixth term for months now.

“Though the president usually does not involve themselves in the politics of the country, there were three matters that I believe necessary and natural to get involved with,” he told listeners. “One was Icesave, the other was the Constitution of the republic, and the third was our cohabitation with Europe and whether we should sell out our decisive sovereignty to the European Union.”

The president does not see any current matters that rise to that level of importance, and therefore does not believe he would be “inexpendable” to Iceland. That said, we may have to wait a couple more months to know one way or the other if he will run.