Bjorgolfur Thor is no longer on the Forbes billionaire list.
And Hannes Smarason of FL Group fame personal debts to Landsbankinn amount to half the IceSave amount owed to the Brits and the Dutch according to the latest calculations. Of course without proper collateral or what?
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It is self explanatory that there is not much sympathy worldwide for a country which first behaved irresponsibly and then tried to export its problems to other countries.
Like other countries which have run their economies into the ground – including Greece as a good example - Iceland must take responsibility for itself. So even if the Icelanders voted no and every last one of them had banged pots and pans in the streets of Reykjavik, the global community has to remain steadfast. If the Icelanders can not agree with the Dutch and the British about payment terms, then they naturally can not expect further loans from either the IMF, the Nordic countries or progression in the EU talks.
It must be noted for fairness sakes that the Icelanders have underlined that their position is not one of not paying, but about the details. And Netherlands and the UK have listened. When Iceland voted no anyhow, the two countries had already offered a better deal, which the Icelandic leadership had already rejected as not good enough. It does not bear witness of either humility or sense of reality.
From Denmark’s Berlingske Tidende (in Danish)
Berlingske noting that Icelanders seem to lack the understanding that actions have consequences.
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“I think what is happening in Iceland proves that our own currency is very beneficial to our needs. You don’t have to go far back to see that the currency developments have increased the competitiveness of Icelandic businesses and industries”.
- Steingrimur J. Sigfusson, Finance Minister of Iceland two years after an economic collapse all but wiped out the Icelandic financial sector after years of “hot money” flowing into the country because of exorbitant interest rates imposed to battle inflation.
He is crediting the arsonist for bringing a bucket of water to the fire.
What he is really celebrating is Iceland moving one step closer to the developing world and improving our “competitiveness” through a worthless currency. Never mind the comparative loss of wealth to citizens in the developed world.
A classic argument for not joining the EU and improving the livelyhood of Iceland’s citizens.
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The party which got Icelandic society into this mess could just hold the keys to make things right.
It is quite a bit strange to hear people say that they would still vote for the Independence Party today, even after its Icarian flight of the past two decades and its nepotistic distribution of the wealth of the nation.
But it so happens that there are sensible, moderate people lurking in the party’s backrooms. They just have to start claiming their party back from the fanatic right. It is time for them to build from the ground what many Independence Party members think their party is about, a democratic party favorable to independent business owners and individual rights, and weed out the frentic big government, oligarcich Friedmanites (yes, the irony but that is what the party had become).
The party attempted to confront the need to reform itself in the wake of the 2009 elections and produced an interesting self-examination and plan for a new beginning. But by stirring fresh and old wounds alike, the still hypnotic Great Leader managed to stir up enough hate and venom at the party’s convention that it put those plans to a halt.
David’s heir, Bjarni Benediktsson has appeared too frail to go to work on claiming the party back for its people from the special interests of fishing quota kings and fanatic republicanite ideologues. A large part of voters of the party have been had for fools for too long now and would doubtlessly celebrate a lead from a leadership who is not afraid of the world around them, who attempt to distribute the wealth in the most efficient directions and is committed to building a prosperous nation instead of self-serving billionaires.
The old ghosts could be pushed out to the fringes where they belong with the Progressive Party. At a time when Iceland is divided because of those interest groups, a reformed Independence Party migh just hold the keys to a successful reconstruction. The moderates need to step out and claim their place, if they don’t they risk unsettling their country even more. But that place will not be theirs unless they stop the rot.
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With a smug grin he revealed last night and today what he had wanted all along. It wasn’t a national referendum on IceSave. It was for the government he opposes to resign.
Steingrimur J. Sigfusson asked the nation how it thought an agreement could be made with a saboteur on our very own negotiating team.
Of course Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Progressive Party and founder of the InDefence pressure group would never have dreamt up a more favorable situation. Half of the nation had bought his spin and handed him the spin necessary to demand a clear path to the power tables. Preferably before the congressional report on the economic crash due out soon.
I hate to say I told you so, but I did and Icelanders were played by a snake oil salesman and too many of them bought it. He has divided the nation and now humbly offers to lead it from distress.
The enemy does not have Iceland’s interests at heart. It is all about the money (did we mention how he became a billionaire through an unholy alliance of politics and business) and the mandate to lead Iceland during these turmoilous times when the wealth and debts of the nation are distributed.
Iceland’s enemy number one has revealed himself and his name is Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson.
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Tomorrow is the first national referendum Icelandic citizens have been allowed to participate in by the political elite since the conception of the republic in 1944. By all measures, this should be a happy day for democracy in Iceland.
But instead it is not a cause for celebration but a large milestone in the farcical power play which has taken place between the four largest political movements in Iceland since 1944.
Yes, a farce. “Isn‘t that what this whole thing really is”, asked a Dutch journalist yesterday after surveying the scene? It is a sad day.
The media has a lot to answer for
The media has a lot to answer for. Instead of allowing people like law professor Bryndis Hlodversdottir and political science professor Svanur Kristjansson to explain to the nation why this isn’t good democracy, the media has instead handed the microphones to red-faced, unbalanced Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Progressive Party whose political career has revolved around kicking up as much mess as possible around IceSave. It makes for a better TV than a balanced approach and it creates pressure on the government he opposes.
In his wake you can see the pressure group InDefence whose members include Progressive Party players and someone who was recently kicked out of the Central Bank for bypassing the currency restrictions which are supposed to be holding our economy together. And the rabble rousers from the Independence Party who are glad the spotlight isn’t on them.
Why isn’t the referendum good democracy? Well, the question is useless as there is a better offer on the table. The information to make an enligthened decision have not been easily available. And the consequences of a yes or a no are unknown. And how do you vote on whether your nation should pay its debts or not? Of course nobody wants to pay. But that is what three governments have now promised Holland and the UK that we are going to do. The rest is just details, isn’t it? And we can argue endlessly over details can’t we? Did the government or the opposition ever tell us what their goals were regarding payment terms, interest rates and such? What exactly is an agreeable agreement to Iceland?
So far, no details have been good enough for the opposition, which includes the Independence Party who would have agreed to a less favorable agreement a long time ago if only they were still in government. And to some people it seems like any deal is a bad deal because then the spotlight will turn towards other matters? Could it be that Iceland’s enemies are not abroad, in Amsterdam or London but actually in Reykjavik, Blonduos and Akureyri? So far, the problem hasn’t been about Iceland’s democratically elected government not reaching an agreement with the UK and Holland. It has been about not reaching an agreement with the opposition. The opposition, coupled with a few Left Greens who think that Iceland’s future as a self sustainable country in the vein of Cuba is viable, has stalled, filibustered, argued and kicked up a storm at every turn. Some academics have suggested that every month stalled has cost Iceland 70 billion ISK or so, a large chunk of IceSave. Are the small details really worth it or are more sinister forces at work here?
For the opposition’s part, the longer this thing drags out the more turmoil there will be in Icelandic society. And who will the voters blame? Well, of course the people in government. And then the way is clear for the opposition to resume power. And don’t think for a minute that they would not try to negotiate with the Brits and the Dutch.
Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. The cheerleader of the business-vikings who raped and plundered Iceland. (Finnish president Halonen not included)
The political elite has a lot to answer for
The political elite has a lot to answer for. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, a lame duck president, paralyzed by his constant smooching with the money-men of yesterday, has suddenly turned the tables somehow to making some foreign journalists believe that he is at the forefront of a fight against capitalism. Don’t be fooled. It was just about his own legacy, and the trouble the four parties have created by constantly refusing constitutional reform which would sharpen his role and responsibilities. They never did because they don’t want to limit their own powers. It is a diabolic merry-go round.
The people have a lot to answer for
The people have a lot to answer for. We have voted for bad politicians and we have voted for a bad system. And we have been fooled into all sorts of bad positions because we are hapless joiners who too easily take sides with demagogues and snake-oil salesmen to easily. The mob has allowed the political elite to maintain its grip on society. Recently it has mindlessly signed petitions for InDefence and Thjodarhagur, honked horns with a slightly facist New Iceland and gathered at an Anthill for a Nation’s Meeting without asking who is behind all these groups and what is their purpose. And now it will flock towards a referendum where one of the options is out of the question, and in many cases not having a clue what they are voting for. Iceland not paying any debts. Count them in.
So what will happen tomorrow? A big no vote of course. And what does it mean? Some people think it is a message of some sort which will improve the negotiating position of Iceland. But really?
Three likely scenarios
a) The government keeps going and attempts to find a solution with the UK and Holland on the grounds that “people are against paying these debts”. Why would the UK and Holland see that as an argument? Those countries can wait. The IMF loans could wait as well. The government is backed into a corner and has little options but to resign.
b) The government keeps going and attempts to find a solution with the UK and Holland on which the opposition can agree to. Which is unlikely, because the opposition can wait until things are so tight that it can assume power on a wave of discontent.
c) The government resigns. The current opposition resumes negotiations and quickly finds an “acceptable deal” with minor adjustments which they will take credit for. The new opposition kicks up a storm. Then what? A new national referendum on that deal?
Bjarni Benediktsson and Sigmundur D. Gunnlaugsson. Opposition party leaders and billionaires.
It is really a whole big mess. And it does not make one proud of being an Icelander. What is currently taking place in Iceland has nothing to do with democracy. It is cold hard realism which has everything to do with power and money. Consider who is leading the opposition. Two, middle aged men who have become filthy rich through the cosy relationship between politics and business in the last few decades. They want people to think that this is about democracy, independence, justice and standing up to the man.
And the real enemy within escapes the attention meanwhile and grows stronger from the strife.
It is a sad day. The first national referendum of the republic since its beginnings and it is for the political elite, by the political elite and benefits the political elite. There could have been so many other more apt matters and issues for the nation to deliberate on, the fishing quota system, support for the war in Iraq, constitutional reform. But no, instead we get this farce.
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“Would you like the EU to take the credit for our victories?”
Does this video imply that we can claim victory if Germany, France or Spain wins the World Cup in July? Or that we can claim victory no matter who wins Eurovision? And does this mean that people in Spain take great pride in Norway’s gold medals at the Winter Olympics?
Well…although I am dumbfounded that someone could be so incredibly stupid to think that EU membership would lead to this, I am sure that this is just the beginning of the most ridiculous national debate in history. And I would not bet against the standard being lowered even further.
Of course the people responsible for this wish to remain anonymous. Iceland’s worst enemies are truly not outside the borders, they are hiding within.
…oh, and the Independence Party has added ten MP’s in the latest polls.
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From Why Washington is Tied Up in Knots?
With these acts of legislative sabotage, Republicans tapped into a deep truth about the American people: they hate political squabbling, and they take out their anger on whoever is in charge. So when the Gingrich Republicans carried out a virtual sit-down strike during Clinton’s first two years, the public mood turned nasty. By 1994, trust in government was at an all-time low, which suited the Republicans fine, since their major line of attack against Clinton’s health care plan was that it would empower government. Clintoncare collapsed, Democrats lost Congress, and Republicans learned the secrets of vicious-circle politics: When the parties are polarized, it’s easy to keep anything from getting done. When nothing gets done, people turn against government. When you’re the party out of power and the party that reviles government, you win.
Combine this with the Independence Party’s new emphasis on recruiting 16-20 year old voters (young enough to not know what’s been going on) and we might have a polarized future ahead.
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I for one am not going to participate in this distortion of democracy which has brought us a national referendum on IceSave.
Of course I would say no to paying for the insane way Landsbankinn went about its business. Today, Halldor J. Kristjansson, one of their CEO’s is on record saying that there were meetings in February 2008 between the banks and the government about an impending collapse, yet they continued on to open the IceSave accounts in the Netherlands two months later.
But in a discussion dominated by the frantics, Bryndis Hlodversdottir, law professor at Bifrost University has come up with the most rational input regarding the referendum so far. In order for it to be democratic the following has to apply:
1) The question has to be clear and answerable with a yes or a no
2) All relevant information must be openly available for the public to be able to form an opinion.
3) The consequences must be clear.
None of these parameters are met with this ridiculous referendum. So for the first time since I was old enough to vote I will stay away from the voting booth. This farce served up by a lame-duck president and a Progressive Party pressure group called InDefence has nothing to do with democracy and I want nothing to do with it.
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Since October 2008 there has been no shortage of demagoguery but now it seems like some lite version of facism is becoming en vogue.
The organization New Iceland (Nytt Island) has caught the attention of the media by gathering people to honk their horns outside the buildings of banks and financial institutions to protest against the currency car loans plagueing so many Icelanders. It makes for great TV and great news reports so the limp media of Iceland has come along to broadcast the noise.
But the agenda of this organization is really curious. Its website is a conundrum of assorted articles, seemingly only written in exclamation points about the corrupt government and rotten banks. So far so good but what do they want instead? Well, they want unemployed people to enter into a civic duty where they are supposed to work for the government for free for starters. And they want a secret service! Well, that is when their agenda is online, which it sometimes is and sometimes isn‘t. For example when the head of the organization was being interviewed on a radio show yesterday it wasn‘t. And when blogger Teitur Atlason started criticizing this organization harshly he suddenly found himself ridiculed as part of the organization‘s agenda!
My personal favourite is closing down all Icelandic embassies abroad. At a time when Icelandic insularism has done the country so much harm, this organization wants to take it a step forward.
Just like the InDefence group feeds on blind justice and paranoia, New Iceland does too. Unfortunately the credible organization Homeowners‘ Association has allowed this wacko group to join them in organized protests on Saturdays outside the parliament. The reasoning is a typical well intended folly whereas the Homeowners‘ Association claims it does not want to fight anyone who is willing to support their cause.
Those who are easily hypnotized by demagoguery and propaganda are at risk of lending credibility to forces that are finding the soil fertile for its sinister causes. That is why you will not find me and many others outside Althingi protesting as I would like. Unfortunately the noise makers make for a great TV and are therefore likely to see their credibility rise in the coming months.
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The rationale for a representative democracy is that the issues facing a government are too varied and detailed to expect the electorate to adequately study each issue. The fear is that modern propaganda can be used to bamboozle the masses into agreeing to laws that are not in their best interest or to permit a small dedicated group to bind the entire population when there is low voter turnout, which is how Hitler and Mussolini, for example, seized and maintained power.
Iris Erlingsdottir Huffington Post
Last Friday I attended a seminar at the University of Iceland where Svanur Kristjansson, professor in political science and Bryndis Hlodversdottir, law professor discussed the impending national referendum under the heading of “Do national referendums strengthen democracy?”
Bryndis focusing on the legal aspects of Olafur Ragnar Grimsson’s decision, said he was probably well within his rights to call for a national referendum. On the other hand, it is to the detriment of Icelandic democracy that the political elite has neglected addressing the possibilities of them being held. There are no rules, no guidelines available. They have to be made up on the spot. Even after Olafur called for one in 2004, the politicians procrastinated on finishing them in the event it would happen again.
Bryndis said that by studying the history of such national referendums elsewhere(Jeremy Paxman could have scolded Olafur for lying about the supposed direct democracy tradition of Iceland, none have been held since the conception of the republic in 1944), that in order for a national referendum to be democratic it would have to fulfill three criteria. As with everything else in the case of IceSave, we appear to run into a problem:
1) The question itself has to be clear and answerable with a yes or a no.
Here is the question which has been approved by Althingi:
“Laws no. 1/2010 enact a change in laws no. 96/2009 about a permission for the financial minister, on behalf of the state treasury, to guarantee the loan of the insurance fund and investors from the states of UK and Holland to support payments to savers of Landsbanki of Iceland hf. Althingi approved law no. 1/2010 but the president refused to sign it. Should law no. 1/2010 be approved?”
The options are “Yes, the should be approved” or “No, they should not be approved”.
Everyone clear on that one?
2) All relevant information must be openly available for the public to be able to form an opinion.
When you google IceSave you end up with 1.970.000 search results. Members of Althingi have continually complained about all the work they’ve had to do in reviewing all the documents available to them. Scores of financial experts, politicians and lawyers on all sides of the Atlantic have appeared saying that yes, Iceland should pay and offered an array of explanations as for why. But scores of financial experts, politicians and lawyers on all sides of the Atlantic have appeared saying that no, Iceland should not pay and offered an array of explanations as for why. Will Joe Public devote the time needed and offer the relevant expertice to conclude this case fairly and objectively?
3) The consequences must be clear.
Well, the definite consequences of a yes or no..??? Oh forget it.
Bryndis and Svanur emphasised the democratic deficiencies which come with national referendums. Voters in California don’t want higher taxes and therefore are ruining the state’s finances. Swiss voters do not mind treading on the basic rights of minorities. They also touched upon the same issues that Iris mentions in her article at Huffington Post. There is a reason why the German constitution bans national referendum altogether. They know the consequences of rabble-rousing and demagoguery first-hand. Most states which allow referendums have clear and precise rules about them, and keeping the matters of a state’s financial obligations appears to be commonly approved of as a good practice.
Svanur’s speech emphasised the apprant desire of the founding fathers of Iceland to erect a true democracy. He made a point of describing the influence of US democracy on them and how there had been a discussion in Althingi on how things were done elsewhere, showing that they were more enlightened about the world than Icelanders in the past are often given credit for.
On the other hand, Svanur talked about the situation of anomie which had arisen in present Iceland. A true democracy does not hold national referendums on the whim of whomever happens to sit in the president’s office at any given time. By making this decision, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson was simply continuing the horrible tradition created by Icelandic politicians in the past few decades of “If it is not illegal, then we do it”. Delivered with passion, his opinions hit a raw nerve in the Independence Party adherents present who wasted no time in continuing their line from Althingi and calling Svanur’s observations a treason.
Bear in mind that Svanur is an old friend an ally of Olafur Ragnar Grimsson.
Svanur’s point is an important one. The political and business elite in Iceland has used this justification for all sorts of bad decisions. Bryndis and Svanur combine to make a point which needs to be heard in today’s discussion in Iceland. National referendums can be useful in enhancing democracy, but Iceland is heading in the wrong direction with its first one since the republic was concieved.
Our failed politicians simply have found a new way in which to fail democracy.
PS: On a follow up from a previous post, Svanur argued that the University of Iceland appeared to have some severe shortcomings in filling its faculty with critical thought. Naming a few professors who did appear to encompass critical thought, he noted that they seemed to have it in common to have had university professors as fathers. He said that critical thought seemed to be better taught in some homes than it is at the university where it is supposed to be emphasised.
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Worrying himself sick every night over the household’s finances, he decided that the correct and responsible thing to do would be to talk to his bank.
The bank’s friendly customer representative brought out a spreadsheet and started entering information about his earnings and spending.
“This is what you have to do”, she said. “You have to stop taking the kids to movies, start bring lunch to work, wear out those shoes you’ve got on and I would recommend you to get rid of the car and start walking or taking the bus.” That way she estimated that he would be in good shape in five years or so, depending on course on the economy.
His correct reply would have been, “What I need to stop doing is paying 12-25% interest on everything from my mortgage to my overdraft. The consumer price indexing of everything is costing me several times more than occasional movie trips with the kids and new shoes once in a while. It basically has meant that everything I have worked for in the last 10-15 years has only left me with more debt”.
Instead he sat silent. The customer representative continued, “Well, we’ll arrange this for you with our great selection of financial products. Tell me, isn’t it time you saw one of our insurance and pension advisors?”.
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The word is about, there’s something evolving,
whatever may come, the world keeps revolving
They say the next big thing is here,
that the revolution’s near,
but to me it seems quite clear
that it’s all just a little bit of history repeating
- Shirley Bassey /
An Independence Party MP being caught in dirty business? For Arni Johnsen, substitute Asbjorn Ottarsson.
The year? For 2001, substitute 2010.
Independence Party leader who stood by his man despite him having broken the law? Substitute David Oddson for Bjarni Benediktsson.
Morgunbladid’s response? For travelling to Vestmannaeyjar to photograph false evidence and publish as the truth, substitute a story about Asbjorn having made a mistake and quickly returned the money when he realised.
For returning fabric taken illegally, substitute returning money taken illegally?
Next move? Arni got re-elected, don’t bet against Asbjorn winning over the souls who’ve lost themselves to the party line.
It must be hard to lead a political party where one of the MP’s has publicly admitted having broken the law by paying himself dividends from a business run on heavy losses. Especially when the leader himself is emboiled in serious fraud involving the wiping out of the country’s largest insurance fund. It would have been nice to be able to call upon a vice-chairman for a PR whitewash if she herself hadn’t benefitted from a 900 million ISK bullet loan which still has to be seen whether she’ll have to pay or if it will be written off.
It should be disturbing enough that Asbjorn who appeared on TV last night to say that he broke the law but that is alright because he has returned the money, is in the parliamentary committee which is supposed to review the investigation committee’s report before it is published.
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