4/12/2010

The Social Democratic Alliance split in three on the EU issue

Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and Foreign Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson have both dismissed the comments from Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, former FM and chairman of the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin), that it would perhaps be better to postpone Iceland's EU application in the light of the Icelandic people's massive opposition to membership. Sigurðardóttir, the current chairman of the social democrats, said she was not as pessimistic as her predecessor.

What the comments by Gísladóttir, however, reveal is that the Social Democratic Alliance, Iceland's only pro-EU party, is totally split on the EU issue (former FM Gísladóttir represents a certain wing within the party), but now not only between those who want to join and those who don't want to (between 20-30 percent of the voters of the party usually reject membership according to the polls). Now the supporthers of EU membership within the party are also split in two, those who want to proceed with the present application and those who think it would be better to postpone the whole issue.

Source:
Fráleitt að fresta viðræðum við ESB (Vísir.is April 10, 2010)