Foreign minister rules out sale of Landsvirkjun

Iceland’s Foreign Minister and Viðreisn leader Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir says Landsvirkjun will not be sold, dismissing claims of a planned privatisation as rumours. She made the comments in an interview with mbl.is after a cabinet meeting.

Gunnarsdóttir was asked about a Facebook post by sociologist Stefán Ólafsson, who said Finance Minister Daði Már Kristófersson’s handling of Landsvirkjun appeared to indicate that privatisation was under consideration. Gunnarsdóttir said the claim was unfounded.

“It is very clear that while I am on duty, we will not sell Landsvirkjun,” she said, adding that Viðreisn’s policy is for the state and the nation to own the company. She said none of the government parties had a sale on their agenda.

Asked whether Heimir Már Pétursson, executive director and spokesperson for the People’s Party, had added to tensions within the government by liking Ólafsson’s post, Gunnarsdóttir said no. She said Pétursson might simply have been stressing that Landsvirkjun must not be sold, adding: “I agree with Heimir on that. Landsvirkjun must not be sold.”