No discussion of ministerial seat changes on the agenda at Thingvellir today

Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir says that the members of pariliament from the ruling parties will discuss parliamentary affairs in the coming winter at the meeting of the ruling parties in Thingvellir today. There will be no discussion of a possible ministerial changes, nor will such discussion be held within the parties themselves. This was stated in her talk to mbl.is after a government meeting at the Ministers’ House on Tjarnargata this morning.

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Changes in the coming days

“We decided a long time ago to have today as a working day of the parliamentary parties of the ruling coalition. We decided to keep it despite the events of the week and we will use the day to discuss the big projects ahead and the parliamentary issues of winter, the party co-operation and all these big issues,” Jakobsdóttir said.

Changes will be cleared up tomorrow

When asked about ministerial changes after the decision of Finance Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to resign, Jakobsdóttir says that this has to be clarified. “Changes in ministerial offices will only be cleared up tomorrow. We are first and foremost discussing the matters and the winter ahead,” she says about today’s meeting.

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Benediktsson resigns as Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs

When asked more about the idea that Minister of Foreign Affairs Bjarni Reykfjörð and Þórdís Kolbrún Gylfadóttir will be rotating ministerial cabinets, Jakobsdóttir says she could say very little. “There are all kinds of talks, but I can’t, unfortunately, tell you anything about it. But it’s of course the case that party chairs discuss it with their parliamentary parties, and it’s not discussed at such a joint meeting. We’re just about to discuss what we’re working on together.” Jakobsdóttir adds that she has read all kinds of theories online about the ministerial changes, but that it’s all just going to be decided tomorrow.

Yesterday, the opposition criticized the situation after Benediktsson’s resignation, saying that the budget bill was up in the air. Jakobsdóttir doesn’t give much thought to that. “It’s simply not true. First, the budget bill has arrived in Parliament, as everyone should know. It’s in the process, and the resignation of the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs doesn’t affect it. Parliament has the matter, and it’s been stipulating it for a long time. That is how it is, and I’ve taken it together that there are many days between the resignation of the minister and the State Council, so this is not unusual in any context.”