Jón Gnarr accuses Viðreisn leadership of indecision and factionalism
Thursday 15th October 2026 on 23:30 in
Iceland
Jón Gnarr, who left Viðreisn’s parliamentary group on Thursday, sharply criticised the party’s leadership in an interview with RÚV’s Kastljós programme, mbl.is reported. He said the leadership had let him down and described unhealthy conditions within the party.
“I have not let anyone down. I have done my duty, but I feel the party leadership has let me down,” Gnarr said. Asked what he saw as the main problems, he criticised party leader Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir and said the party was poorly organised.
Gnarr said he would not accept being in an unhealthy situation where he felt he had no control. He cited an aversion to making decisions and the formation of cliques as examples of the problems he experienced.
He said difficulties within the parliamentary group had affected him and had become serious. He pointed to setbacks in the government partnership and said the outcome of a referendum had been a major blow for many in the party. Serious illnesses among members of the parliamentary group had also had a very negative effect on its work, he said, while adding that he liked the people in the group.
Gnarr said there had long been a lack of clear leadership in both the parliamentary group and the party. He still considers himself a member of Viðreisn, which he said is the party he feels closest to, but described himself as an independent MP outside the parliamentary group.
He said his departure was due to political and organisational disagreements, including over support for children in serious difficulty. Gnarr said he had made the issue a priority and felt the party had not adequately backed him, though he acknowledged that good work had been done. He expects to have more time to focus on the issue now that he no longer has to take part in the group’s internal work.
Sigmar Guðmundsson, a Viðreisn MP and former parliamentary group chair, is on sick leave. Pawel Bartoszek has taken over the chairmanship. Gnarr said he was pleased that a decision had finally been made, adding that he had been dissatisfied with the delay.