Do the following:
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt-get update # not sure if it's necessary but it doesn't hurt
sudo apt-get install skype
If you were receiving issues with skype-bin earlier, that’s because it’s a 32-bit lib and adding i386 to dpkg allows skype-bin to be installed, which resolves the dependency issue, and probably some other issues as well.
Thanks for sharing. In Ubuntu MATE 16.04, there will be a one-click install for Skype in Welcome / Software Boutique.
Only difference is that Skype is installed from the Ubuntu partners repository and doesn’t add the i386 architecture.
How come there isn’t a 64-bit skype-bin? It confused me greatly when I first saw that happen.
Also, a really big part of what makes Linux Mint simple is multiarch being enabled by default. I know progress always moves forward and all, but why not have i386 added as an architecture option? My little “Tip” would had turned into a complaint if I wasn’t messing with Debian earlier and encountering a similar issue of not being able to launch a 32-bit app.
Skype has always been a 32-bit program, as with Steam. Installing Skype from Welcome does install the i386 packages as required, even though Welcome never explicitly adds i386 or enables multiarch (which is what I meant).
There's no harm in asking dpkg to enable it - in fact, my 64-bit systems/VMs have it enabled, although I never enabled it myself.
dpkg --print-foreign-architectures
kernel - How to tell if my system is "multiarch"? - Ask Ubuntu