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Iceland's Independence Party leader to form new govt.

Wednesday, 02 November 2016 3:33 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 02 November 2016 4:25 PM ]

Bjarni Benediktsson of Iceland's Independence Party gives a news conference in Reykjavik on November 2, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

Iceland's president has tasked Bjarni Benediktsson, the leader of the center-right Independence Party, with forming a new government following snap parliamentary elections prompted by the Panama Papers scandal.

"My decision is to give the chairman of the Independence Party the power to form a government that has a majority in the parliament," President Gudni Johannesson said on Wednesday, referring to Benediktsson.

Benediktsson's conservative Independence Party won 21 seats in the 63-seat parliament in the elections of October 29 that saw no party winning a majority.

The Panama Papers had earlier revealed a global tax evasion scandal that also involved Iceland's former Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson of the Progressive Party, which won only eight seats in the vote, down from 19.

The Pirate Party and three center-left allies won 27 seats in the polls, but they fell short of a majority as the ruling center-right coalition between the Progressive Party and the Independence Party together won 29 seats, nine down from the number of seats they held in the previous parliament.

Benediktsson said his "first steps will be to have discussions with other leaders."

"I will try to make the most of the time, it is important to use each day well."

He said his new task of holding negotiations on forming a new government "could take some time because it is clear that two parties would not be enough but I have not given myself any prearranged outcome."

"I have not closed any doors," Benediktsson added.

Iceland, with a population of only 332,000, has returned to prosperity following its 2008 financial meltdown.

The country's growth in the gross domestic product is anticipated to remain above four percent this year due to its tourism industry and the financial recovery. However, Iceland's youth distrust the political elite.

The nation has also been forced to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

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