Iceland names new PM, to hold autumn election

Reykjavik : Iceland's right-wing government on Wednesday named a new prime minister and said it would hold early elections in the autumn, after the previous leader was forced to step down over his implication in the Panama Papers scandal.

The two coalition partners, the Progressive Party and the Independence Party, agreed after talks late Wednesday to hand the prime ministerial post to the agriculture minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, 53, of the Progressives.

He replaces Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, 41, who stepped down Tuesday amid massive public protests over a hidden offshore account revealed in the so-called Panama Papers leak of 11.5 million financial documents.

"We expect to have elections this autumn," Johannsson told reporters, insisting that the coalition, in power since 2013, would continue to run the country's affairs despite thousands of protesters calling for the whole government's resignation.

"We will continue our work together. We are of course hoping this will help bring stability in the political system," he said.

President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who at 72 is due to retire in June after five terms and 20 years in office, is expected to approve Johannsson's appointment.

Iceland's next legislative elections were originally scheduled for April 2017.