Iceland is facing early elections after the collapse of its governing coalition

LONDON – LONDON (AP) — Iceland appears headed toward a snap election after Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson pulled the plug on the Nordic country’s fragile ruling coalition.

The prime minister is expected to call on President Halla Tómasdóttir on Monday to formally dissolve Iceland’s parliament, the Althingi, for a new election on November 30, national broadcaster RUV reported.

Benediktsson’s center-right Independence Party has been in power since April alongside the centrist Progress Party and the Left-Green Movement. He said the coalition partners disagree on issues such as immigration, energy policy and the economy.

Iceland is a windswept island near the Arctic Circle with a population of about 385,000. The country suffered years of economic turmoil after its debt-ridden banks collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis, but has emerged as a major draw for tourists wanting to see its glaciers and waterfalls, the Northern Lights and its frequently active volcanoes.

Repeated outbreaks on the Reykjanes peninsula in the southwest of the country have displaced several thousand people and strained public finances.