Sambandsflokkurin (The Unionist Party, B), Fólkaflokkurin (The People‘s Party, A) and Miðflokkurin (The Centre Party, H) will begin negotiations to form a new government today.
A majority of the new parliament yesterday called on current prime minister Aksel V. Johannesen to resign and hand over post-election coalition negotiation rights to Bárður á Steig Nielsen, the leader of the Unionist Party.
The Unionist Party prefers a conservative, right-wing BAH-government – a repeat of the 2011-15 government -, and will, thus, start negotiations with The People‘s Party and The Centre Party later today.
A BAH government will have 17 mandates in the Løgting (the Faroese parliament).
The Løgting consists of 33 representatives
There have also been calls for a BCEF-government – a more centrist government -, but as it stands, such a coalition is unlikely. A BCEF would have 22 mandates in the Løgting.
Should The Centre Party become part of a new BAH-government, it will be interesting to see whether the party manages to convince its coalition partners to repeal same-sex marriage.
The Centre Party announced prior to the General Elections, which were held last Saturday, that it intended to repeal same-sex marriage if it returned to power after four years in opposition.
Bill Justinussen, a Centre Party MP, stated that his party aimed to roll back same-sex marriage rights if it became part of a new coalition.
“Marriage is between a man and a woman. The party and all its candidates share this opinion, and the Centre Party thus intends to change the marriage law once again, if we hopefully become part of a new coalition after the elections. Wrongdoings must be corrected as soon as possible. Because two people of the same gender cannot be a married couple due to biological reasons,” said Mr. Justinussen in a reader’s letter prior to the elections.
In April 2016, the Faroese Parliament passed legislation legalizing civil same-sex marriage in the Faroe Islands, recognizing same-sex marriages established in Denmark and abroad and allowing same-sex adoption. This was ratified by the Folketing (Danish Parliament) in April 2017. The law went into effect on 1 July 2017.