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Chaos in Iceland after prime minister’s father tries to clear pedophile’s name

Iceland’s government was in shambles Friday after a coalition party quit because the prime minister’s father has tried to clear a pedophile’s name, according to reports.

The centrist Bright Future Party, which had four seats in Iceland’s parliament, the Althini, said in a Facebook post that there was “a serious breach of trust” behind its withdrawal.

Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson took office in January with his Independence Party, the Reform Party and the centrists. Together the three parties held the slimmest of majorities — 32 of the 63 seats in parliament following the Oct. 29 elections.

Benediktsson’s father, Benedikt Sveinsson, had helped a convicted child molester apply for a clause in the country’s judicial system allowing those who’ve served sentences for serious crimes to “restore their honor.”

In 2004, Hjalti Sigurjon Hauksson was convicted of raping his stepdaughter almost every day for 12 years, and sentenced to five years in the slammer.

In his statement of apology, Sveinsson said that Hauksson had brought him an already drafted letter that he signed.

“I have never considered the restored honor as anything except a legal procedure making it possible for convicted criminals to regain some civil rights,” Sveinsson said.

“I did not think of it as something that would justify Hjalti’s position towards his victim. I told Hjalti to face his action and to repent,” he added.

“What was supposed to be a small gesture of good will towards a convicted criminal has instead turned into a continuation of the tragedy for the victim. For this I again apologisze.”

The Reykjavik Grapevine news site quoted the survivor of Hauksson’s abuse as saying it was “surreal” that he should receive restored honor, according to the BBC.

When it emerged that some government officials had kept information from the public about a letter seeking to expunge Hauksson’s record, the Bright Future Party said it was pulling out.

It was unclear whether Benediktsson, a former finance minister who was also named in the Panama Papers as having held a stake in a Seychelles-based investment company, will seek to form a new coalition or will call early elections in the Nordic nation.

“It would not necessarily be a surprise if the prime minister wants to call an election,” Baldur Thorhallsson, a political scientist at the University of Iceland, told Reuters. “There is great political uncertainty in Iceland currently.”

The last government collapsed over the Panama Papers scandal that embroiled several ministers and forced former Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson to resign amid protests over his offshore holdings.

Friday’s news knocked the Icelandic crown as much as 1 percent lower against the euro and the dollar, according to Reuters.