No confidence vote in parliament was voted down

A parliamentary motion for a vote of no-confidence of the government was voted down last night just before 11 pm. The proposal was voted down by 35 votes to 25.

The proposal was submitted by the People’s Party and the Pirate Party and was met by Inga Sæland, chair of the People’s Party, at 5 pm yesterday. The proposal was that the Icelandic parliament, Alþingi, should decide to express no confidence in the government and express its desire that parliament be dissolved by June 26 and that general elections be held on September 7.

Discussions continued until 10.15 pm, after which the session was interrupted. The session resumed at 10.30 pm, and a large number of MPs spoke about the vote on the resolution.

Government can no longer be trusted

“We’re talking not only about the lack of trust here today but about the demand for a break-up of parliament and for new elections. The proposal is submitted in the name of all those who have given up on the government coalition between the Independence Party, the Progressive Party, and the Left-Green Movement. We’re sending a clear message to the government that it is no longer trustworthy,” Inga Sæland said in her speech.

Why waste our time on such matters

Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson said at the beginning of his speech that all those who take part in the Althingi parliament are entitled to be proud to take part in the legislative session.

“But then there are times when one feels we’re failing and I ask myself here, when there is a distrust of the government, why are we wasting our time on such matters?” Benediktsson said.

He said it would be better to have a general discussion about the political situation rather than a specific discussion about what the government wants to do with its major policies.

The Reform party supported distrust of government

Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, chair of the Reform Party, said during the debate on the no-confidence motion from the People’s Party and the Pirate Party for the government, that the Reform Party will support the no-confidence motion.

She said that it should never be an easy move to call out for mistrust, but it is nevertheless a democratic right for every member of parliament to express mistrust.

“We need a functioning government, which this government is not. We need a government that makes decisions and does not let internal conflicts stop everything. We cannot have a government that steps on the brakes when the people have to get forward,” Gunnarsdóttir said in her speech.