Iceland elections leave ruling centre-right party in driving seat

Source: The Guardian

Iceland’s incumbent Independence party was in pole position to try to form a new government after elections on Saturday produced major gains for the anti-establishment Pirate party and its allies, but no outright winner.

With all votes counted, the Pirates – founded four years ago by a group of activists, anarchists and former hackers – and their three left-of-centre partners held a combined total of 27 seats, five short of a majority in the country’s 63-seat parliament.

The centre-right Independence party won almost 30% of the vote, significantly more than the opinion polls had predicted, winning a total of 29 seats with its coalition partner of the past three years, the Progressive party.
...
The final shape of the government remains unclear, with multiple permutations possible. But the results mean the seven MPs from the newly established, liberal Viðreisn, or Regeneration, party, which split from Independence this year over the issue of Europe, could well be kingmakers – making already delicate coalition negotiations even more difficult than usual.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/30/iceland-elections-ruling-centre-right-party-pirate-party