title: Iceland leans toward leftist government in snap election
text: REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Icelanders, angry over a string of political scandals, ousted their center-right government in an election that could pave the way for a charismatic young opposition leader to form a left-leaning coalition, final vote counts showed on Sunday. With the defeat of incumbent Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson s coalition government, his main opponent, the Left-Green Movement s Katrin Jakobsdottir, is likely to get a chance to form a narrow majority in parliament. Still, the composition of any coalition government remained uncertain, as the president had not yet mandated a party to form one. The Nordic island of 340,000 people, one of the countries hit hardest by the 2008 financial crisis, has staged a remarkable economic rebound spurred by a tourism boom. Benediktsson called the snap election in September, after less than a year in government, as a scandal involving his father prompted the Bright Future party to drop out of his ruling coalition, citing a breach of trust. The previous government was defeated last year following revelations in the Panama Papers about then-Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson s use of offshore tax havens. In addition to the political scandals, a growing sense of inequality and unease about immigration in one of the world s most ethnically homogeneous nations have rattled a democracy known for its political and social stability. After the final vote count, Jakobsdottir, 41, of the Left-Greens stood to gain a narrow majority in parliament with three other opposition parties. The result showed a Left-Green-led coalition was possible if they joined forces with the Social Democrats, the Progressive Party and the Pirate Party. Together, they would hold 32 of parliament s 63 seats.   The opposition has a majority, so that s a message. But we ve also talked about that maybe things should be done differently and create a broader government,  Jakobsdottir said in a TV debate on Sunday. The Left-Greens want to reduce inequality and fund an increase in public health care, education and infrastructure spending by raising taxes for the wealthy and introducing a property tax.  The parliament will be split among eight parties. There are two new parties, and one of the parties in the current tri-party government failed to get enough votes to remain in parliament. The Independence Party, the main partner in the current government coalition, lost 4 percentage points from last year s election to take 25 percent of the vote. It remains the biggest party, but the election was the worst since 2009 for a party that has dominated Iceland s politics for decades, getting support of as much as 40 percent of voters. Asked during the TV debate if the Independence Party would get the chance to form a new government, Benediktsson said:  I think so. We are the biggest party, and I think it s normal that we should be a part of a future government.  We are attacked as a party that bears responsibility for certain things,  he said.  We are in a new environment, and considering that I am happy with the result.  His party wants to reduce the national debt and cut taxes on individuals and businesses.  The Left-Greens came in second with 17 percent, up 1 percentage point from last year s election, and its probable ally the Social Democrats in third with 12 percent, almost doubling its share.  I think that the opposition with one extra party can create a really strong government,  said Social Democrat leader Logi Einarsson, hinting at the possibility of a five-party government. The new Centre Party, which was formed in September by former Prime Minister Gunnlaugsson, won 11 percent of the votes. The Pirate Party, which last year rode a wave of anger against the establishment to become the third biggest party in parliament, stood to get 9 percent of votes in Saturday s election down from 14 percent last year. 