Reykjavik mayor calls for further spending cuts
Friday 4th September 2026 on 18:01 in
Iceland
Reykjavik Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir says the city must take further cost-cutting measures after its deficit reached 4.6 billion Icelandic krónur in the first quarter, mbl.is reported.
Reykjavik announced significant organisational changes last week that are expected to save about 900 million krónur a year. Björnsdóttir discusses the measures in the Spursmál programme and explains how she plans to protect the city’s core operations at the same time.
The programme was broadcast on mbl.is earlier on Friday. A recording is available in the player, as well as on Spotify and YouTube.
Media market tensions and referendum fallout
The programme also features pianist Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson and media analyst and economist Örn Arnarson, who works for Viðskiptablaðið. They discuss turmoil in Iceland’s media market, including the end of Sýn’s evening news broadcasts.
In the final part of the programme, Professor Emeritus Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson of the University of Iceland examines the results of last weekend’s referendum and what they mean for the government of Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir.
Spursmál is broadcast on mbl.is every Friday at 2pm. Stefán Einar Stefánsson hosts the programme.