Iceland’s centre-right seeks to govern as Pirates hail gains
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — There was no Pirate takeover, but the upstart party managed to make waves in Iceland.
The country’s party leaders were beginning meetings Sunday with Iceland’s president to hammer out who will form the next government, after an election that produced big gains for the radical Pirates but gave the largest bloc of seats to the centre-right Independence Party.
Some form of coalition government is certain since no party gained a parliamentary majority in an election overshadowed by public discontent at the establishment after years of financial crisis and political turmoil.
The conservative Independence Party took 29 per cent of the vote and 21 of 63 parliament seats. Leader Bjarni Benediktsson said the party should be given a mandate by President Gudni Th. Johannesson to form a new coalition government.