Camera crews and reporters waited outside the government building in Riverton for more than 14 hours on Tuesday as negotiators from the governing Civic Union and its partner, the Green Alliance, tried to settle a budget dispute that threatens their coalition.
The talks, which began at 10 a.m., were still going after midnight. Takeaway pizza was delivered twice. Shortly before 1 a.m., the two party leaders stepped outside briefly, said that “progress has been made” and announced that talks would resume on Wednesday afternoon.
What the dispute is about
At the heart of the disagreement is next year’s budget. The Civic Union wants to keep spending flat and freeze public sector hiring to bring down the deficit. The Green Alliance says it will not support the budget unless it includes money for public transport and a long-promised fund for coastal flood protection.
Without the Green Alliance’s votes, the government would lose its majority in the National Assembly.
We are not here to make things easy, we are here to get things right. There will be no budget that forgets the people of the coast.
Hanna Ostby, Green Alliance leader
The Civic Union’s chief negotiator, finance minister Daniel Kerr, insisted both sides wanted the coalition to continue.
Long talks are not a sign of crisis. They are a sign that both sides take this seriously.
Daniel Kerr, finance minister
A long night on the pavement
Outside, the mood swung between boredom and tension. Reporters took turns doing live reports in front of the main entrance, while photographers kept watch by the side door ministers use to avoid the cameras.
You learn to read the windows. When the lights on the third floor go off, someone is leaving. Tonight they stayed on until the very end.
Mila Reinholt, political reporter for News.
What happens next
The opposition Progress Party said the government should call an early election if it cannot agree on a budget. Its parliamentary leader, Tomas Varga, accused the coalition of “running the country from a meeting room.”
The budget must be presented to the National Assembly by the end of next month. Analysts say a deal is still the most likely outcome, though it may cost the Civic Union some of its spending targets.
Comments 3
Fourteen hours and the result is that progress has been made. I could have written that at 10 a.m.
Respect to the reporters who stood outside all night. Thanks for the updates.
If they can’t agree on a budget, let the voters decide.