Icelandic parties agree to form coalition government

The two parties which won the Icelandic parliamentary election last month, the Progressive Party and the Independence Party, have agreed on the coalition government talks and presented the agreement to the President of Iceland, reported Icelandic media on Wednesday. According to Iceland Review Online, the chairman of the Progressive Party Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson will become Iceland's Prime Minister and the leader of the Independence Party Bjarni Benediktsson will hold the position of Minister of Finance and Economics. Apart from the two positions, the Progressive Party and the Independence Party will respectively hold three and four ministries in the new Icelandic cabinet. The new government will focus on reducing household debt and on strengthening the economy, while the negotiations for European Union accession will be halted until a national referendum is held, reported Icelandic media. The Progress Party and the Independence Party had both won 19 seats in the 63-seat parliament in the end of last month and started the coalition talks since then. The agreement is now waiting for the approval of Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson.