Lögberg-Heimskringla - 04.11.2005, Side 2

2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 4 November 2005
Changing political landscape in Iceland
PHOTO COURTESY OF MORGUNBLAÐIÐ
Prime Minister of Iceland Halldór Ásgrímsson (left) and his predecessor Davíð Oddsson.
Kent Lárus Björnsson
The political picture in Ice-
land is changing greatly
— or is it?
Davíð Oddsson recently
stepped down as Foreign Af-
fairs Minister, a post he had held
for the past year. Previously he
had been Prime Minister for a
record 4,888 days, or more than
13 years. He was active in stu-
dent politics and then became
Mayor of Reykjavík in 1982.
He moved into federal poiitics
in 1991.
Big changes were made in
Reykjavík while he was mayor,
like the building of the new City
Hall and Perlan. Big changes
also occurred in Iceland while
Oddsson was Prime Minis-
ter. He had a hand in many of
these changes but perhaps it
was more the government, and
world politics, that resulted in
most of the changes.
Current Prime Minister
Halldór Ásgrímsson, in his
policy address at the opening of
Alþingi (Parliament) on Octo-
ber 5 quoted farmer-poet Guð-
mundur Ingi Kristjánsson from
Kirkjuból in the West Fjords:
Er brýnir þú plóg og strengir
stög
og stendur í vinnuher,
þá verði þar jafnan lífs þíns lög,
sem land þitt og tunga er.
Þá finnur þú Islands œðaslög
hið innra með sjálfum þér.
(“The Icelandic character
refuses to be deterred by the re-
ality of being a small nation in
a big world, but instead empha-
sizes that we are a nation among
other nations, and concentrates
on our strengths rather than our
weaknesses.”)
Iceland has had a coalition
government for a long time, so
pointing to one person as respon-
sible for these changes is inaccu-
rate. Another great change is, as
in many other countries, a trend
toward smaller government. In
Iceland, three of the major state
banks have been privatized, and
more recently, the National Tele-
phone Co. (Landsími).
As well, Iceland continues
to hamess its vast geothermal
and hydro resources, attract-
ing foreign investment. The
best example of this is the con-
troversial Alcoa Aluminum
Smelter and Kárahnúkar power
plant being built on the east
coast. Other aluminum smelt-
ers are being expanded and
their growth is welcomed by
most Icelanders, especially the
business community.
As Davíð Oddsson steps
down to take a position with
the Central Bank of Iceland,
Seðlabanki, who follows him
into the limelight? Will Halldór
Ásgrímsson continue as leader
of the Progressive Party, which
seems to be losing ground in the
polls?
With Oddsson stepping
down as Conservative (Inde-
pendence) Party Leader, who
will take that position? Geir
H. Haarde seems to be the next
person in line. There are some
other strong contenders in the
party, such as Þorgerður Katrín
Gunnarsdóttir, who has put her
hat in the ring for the deputy
leader’s position for now. Ami
Mathiesen, currently Minister
of Foreign Affairs, is another
young and forthcoming mem-
ber of the party.
Even though the Conserva-
tive Party is showing gains in
the polls, the other parties can
not be discounted. The Progres-
sive Party, the coalition part-
ner to the Conservatives, has
some notable members besides
Halldór Ásgrímsson, such as
Minister of Agriculture Guðni
Ágústsson, Social Affairs Min-
ister Ámi Magnússon, Minister
of Health Jón Kristjánsson and
Minister of Industry and Trade-
Valgerður Sverrisdóttir.
Running a close second in
the polls to the Conservative
Party are the Social Democrats,
led by Ingibjörg Sólrún Gís-
ladóttir. They form the main op-
position party and came close
to becoming the largest party
in the last election. The Left-
Green Movement and the Lib-
eral Party have their core back-
ers and will likely continue to
push their agendas, despite hav-
ing only íive and three members
of parliament respectively.
Though Iceland’s total pop-
ulation is still less than 300,000,
Prime Minister Ásgrímsson an-
nounced at the UN General As-
sembly on September 15 that
Iceland will seek a seat on the
Security Council for the term
2009-2010.
Ásgrímsson remarked, “The
United Nations has made a great
difference to many but it has also
failed many. If we do not reform
the Security Council, we will
lack the necessary strength and
power to protect and to secure
and maintain peace. Iceland be-
lieves that, with the assistance of
the President of the General As-
sembly, this matter can be settled
before the end of the year.”
Icelanders are a determined
bunch and the country will likely
continue to take its place on the
international stage.
Though Prime Minister Ás-
grímsson has been criticized for
the request to join the Security
Council, other Nordic nations
have offered their assistance in
Iceland getting a seat. Why not
have a small, determined nation
on the Council? Time will tell.
Experience Ice
the way it was meant to be!
Scotch on lce
/nc/udes: Reykjavik & Glasgow
• Return airfare.
■ 3 nights hotel accommodatíon (standard category)
in Reykjavik and Glasgow.
• Airport transfers tn lceland.
■ Blue Lagoon entrance.
■ Central Scotland Rover pass (3 day).
From Toronto,
Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax
For Departures From:
Winnipeg add $100
Regina/Saskatoon add $240
Edmonton/Calgary add $240
Vancouveradd $300
Eastem Canada via Boston Oct30*Dec17 2005, Dec24~Mar31 2006
Western Canada vía Minneapolis Oct30-Dec17 2005,Dec24-Jan9 2006,Mar13-31 2006
Prices shown are per person excluding taxes of approx. $155-190 depending on departure city
and are for low season travel. Rates are available on request for travel in other seasons.
Phone Toll Free: 1 800 661-3830
iceland@gctc-mst.com
www.iceland-experience.com
Visit us on the web at http://www.lh-inc.ca