Wicelandic Post

It is that sinking feeling one has had browsing through the news of the week. With each passing month from the Icelandic economic collapse, things aren’t really changing at all.

I have written before about many Icelanders clinging onto the hope that if they close their eyes long enough, everything will be just fine. And meanwhile the political and commercial landscape of Iceland is turning into a farce.

Sigmundur Ernir Runarsson, MP for the Social Democrats found his way drunk into the podium of Althingi.

If you don’t speak Icelandic and therefore don’t understand him, then don’t worry, he manages to make some sense but it is all moot because being there after a drink or two makes absolutely no sense. Neither did the outcry from Ragnheidur Rikhardsdottir, MP for the Independence Party who managed to mount the highground of the parliamentary sandbox and wonder outloud about such behavior. Then Sigmundur said that he hadn’t been drunk, then the guests of MP Bank’s golf-tournament and accompanying dinner said he had been drinking, then he admitted that he had but he “hadn’t been drunk”.

All somehow so Clintonian.

And he supposedly drove from the event down to Althingi where the opposition used the opportunity to throw him some questions, therefore exposing his idiocy. Then someone pointed out that Ragnheidur herself had on more than one occasion come to work at Althingi after a glass or two. Of course there was someone on hand to cut the speech together in a most unflattery way and post it on Youtube, proving righ the old saying that “they will hold onto power by any means necessary”. (The poster even had the gall to call himself monsterdept. which is the conspiracy name given to an invisible right-wing propaganda machine)

Sigmundur ended up apologizing. Amidst all the justification (left wing) and moral outcry (right-wing), very few have pointed out the central fact that had he been doing his job inhibriated at most other workplaces then he’d been handed his resignation. Instead, our MP’s treat their valuable chairs like they are working at a bar.

And what was Sigmundur doing chugging free drinks at a bank event anyways? Isn’t that exactly what got us into all this trouble?

What are you doing here??? Photo from RUV

Hannes Holmsteinn Gissurarson then continued his impressive track record of bad judgement by attending the massive (300 people) protest sanctioned by the Independence Party against the IceSave agreement outside parliament. Hannes’ presence promted other protesters to react accordingly and chase him into the Althingi building, a fitting sanctuary for intellectual ants.

Hannes has pinpointed where the blame for Iceland’s economic collapse lies. It is with EVERYONE…except David Oddson of course. And why wouldn’t you believe the man who sat on the board of the Central Bank while David Oddson was its Governor? And Hannes is writing a book about the whole thing so future generations can learn how to stick their heads into the sand and chant “it’s all the commies fault”. If you want a preview then you’d do worse than attend Hannes’ course on the lessons learned from the economic mess, paid for by the taxpayers through the University of Iceland. (And down the toilet goes that stated goal of becoming one of the top universities in the world)

Hannes could consult Lydur Gudmundsson, who started his career as a multi-billionaire with one phone call to Sigurdur Einarsson at Kaupthing and proceeded to lead the innovation business of throwing money out the window. In a Kastljos interview he told the nation what was really wrong with the country. Those damn bloggers, exposing, probing and asking relevant questions are the source of all evil according to the man who bought Armani’s yacht! But then again, according to Hannes Holmsteinn, Lydur isn’t a “good capitalist”, because he ain’t a card-carrying member of the Independence Party.

One who soon might be the man who carries up the credit card of the Independence Party is Ross Beaty of Magma Energy. Ross who? Magma what? He is the guy who Independence Party and Social Democratic councilmen are dying to hand over the energy rights of the Reykjanes peninsula for the next 130 years or so. It can’t be because he is bringing much needed foreign currency into the economy because he wants a loan from Reykjavik Energy to pay for it. So who is really behind the whole deal? Who is sufficiently wealthy and powerful enough to persuade Magnus Orri Schram and Skuli Helgason of the Social Democrats to gush forth the justification they’ve made in the last few days?

Could it be the same people who ran the Icelandic economy into the ground but haven’t been prosecuted or seen their assets frozen? No one knows because in “New Iceland” (a popular chant with Social Dems) just like in “Old Iceland” (i.e. the way things were that contributed to the mess) diclosure of ownership does not play a revelant part when public assets are privatized.

One hundred and thirty years? It so happens that on the very year 1879, the first mobile home saw the light of the day. It was powered by…horse.

Coincidentally, 130 years later and powered by horse-manure is the stance taken by the Progressive Party and the Independence Party on the IceSave agreement. It stinks of the two parties trying to position themselves in consumers…sorry voters’ minds before the next elections. Read their lips when they say that they are AGAINST THE ICESAVE AGREEMENT!!! And try not to laugh when they say that Steingrimur J. Sigfusson and the people working on the agreement are traitors.

The reek you smell is from the people protesting their own creation, the IceSave accounts opened by the people who were given Landsbanki by the Independence Party and the Progressive Party seven years ago and proceeded to run it into the ground in much less than a decade. No privatization into the hands of Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson and Bjorgolfur Thor and no IceSave.

Granted, it is absolutely ridiculous that the Icelandic people are supposed to carry the burden of the mismanagement of a group of criminals without them being brought to justice and made to pay their part. Bjorgolfur Thor, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, Sigurjon Th. Arnason, Halldor J. Kristjansson, Kjartan Gunnarsson, Svava Grönfeldt and those who sat on the board of Landsbanki during the IceSave period have committed an act of treason so huge that they should in any civilized society be made to pay a fine of everything they own to cover the Landsbanki debt, and preferrably spend a couple of years in jail.

But their defenders, i.e. the government, Althingi and Independence Party voters (most lawyers in Iceland) are against people’s assets being frozen and taken away. Except that is if you’re not wealthy. Then the evaporation of homeowners’ assets that has taken place in Iceland can be blamed on people buying flat screen TV’s and taking excessive risks.

Confused? You shouldn’t be. If you own or control a bank, which you bought with money borrowed from the bank, and run it into the ground then you walk away, keep your assets and form a consultancy, buy chocolate factories and talk of helping out by re-investing. The state assumes the loss and all is fine. If you on the other hand own an apartment, which you bought with your own money and some borrowed from the bank, and then see your owners equity run into the ground by things you have no control over then you have to pay for taking excessive risk. Like the couple in Hafnarfjordur who saved 5 million by living at one of their parents for a few years and then bought a home with 20% down and a loan in ISK. Their excessive risk taking has now seen their owners’ equity drop to a negative 5 million through housing prices falling and the wonderful miracle of price indexation.

No wonder the woman on yesterday’s news was confused about the whole price indexation thing. But she is probably inching closer to the terrible feeling many have that in order to untie the massive knot in their stomach which has been building since last October, nothing short of a revolt is needed.