Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.01.2011, Blaðsíða 11

11
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1 — 2011 You know what would have been cool? If deCode Genetics, LazyTown, Oz.com
had all worked out perfectly and we were all driving around in hydrogen fuelled
cars by now. Oh, messy life.
vincing evidence for Alþingi to indict
the leaders of the Independence Party
and the Alliance for gross mistakes and
neglect of public duty (along with the
Central Bank directors and a few small-
er fish), Alþingi spectacularly failed to
follow the matter through to its logical
conclusion. The haphazard outcome
was that Alþingi only indicted the hap-
less former PM, Mr. Haarde. In doing
so Alþingi forfeited what little trust
there was left in that battered bastion.
This calls to mind the Nobel laureate
Laxness’ famous adage from ‘Iceland’s
Bell’: “Cruel is their injustice, but worse
still is their justice.”
CULPRITS-IN-CHIEF
The evidence presented in the inves-
tigative report overwhelmingly shows
that the Godfathers of Iceland’s fall
were in fact the leaders of the twin-par-
ties, the Independence Party and their
junior coalition partner, the so-called
Progressives. The leaders of those par-
ties, Mr. Davíð Oddsson and Mr. Hall-
dór Ásgrímsson, were sitting jointly at
the helm of coalition governments for
three consecutive electoral terms, or
twelve years, administering the policies
that led up to the fall.
They were directly responsible for
the corrupting inf luence of the quota
system; also for the privatisation of the
banks á la Russe; and they were directly
responsible for the lack of coordinated
macro-economic management of the
Icelandic economy, which gave free
rein to the fraudulent business practic-
es that brought down the entire finan-
cial system of the country. In addition
Mr. Oddsson, in his capacity as Central
Bank Director (appointed by himself in
2005), is responsible for not only the fall
of the banks but also the collapse of the
national currency and the bankruptcy
of the Central Bank to boot.
The least Alþingi should have done,
apart from indicting Mr. Haarde and
his accomplices, was to adopt a motion
of censure condemning those culprits-
in-chief of the economic ruin they
left behind. That would have sufficed
to permanently bar those individuals
from public office. And it should have
made it mandatory for their respective
political parties to critically examine
and reject their legacies. Only after do-
ing so can those political parties ask
to be given another opportunity to be
trusted with public office. Trust cannot
be taken for granted. It must be earned.
Instead the public has to suffer the
indignity of hearing Mr. Oddsson, in
his capacity as editor of the conserva-
tive daily, Morgunblaðið, holding up a
ceaseless tirade, blaming everybody but
himself for the misfortune he, more
than anyone else, is responsible for hav-
ing brought upon his people. Through
his daily falsification of history, this de
facto leader of the Independence Party
is doing his nation an even greater dis-
service by scaring the rank and file of
IP-loyalists from coming to grips with
the party’s disreputable past. He who
does not acknowledge his mistakes
and blames everybody else for his own
faults is not going to learn from those
mistakes. He is doomed to repeat them.
Sorry.
THE ENEMIES WITHIN
In two new major works of historical
scholarship, the authors—historians
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson and Þór White-
head—cast the searchlight on deeply
rooted and longstanding weaknesses
of the political institutions of Iceland,
since it came into existence as a sover-
eign nation in 1918. In the case of Mr.
Jóhannesson’s masterful biography of
Dr. Gunnar Thoroddsen (a former IP-
leader and PM) he reveals new sources
for the widespread, corrupt practices of
the Independence Party (and its ref lec-
tion within the other dominant party,
the Progressives). Those two political
parties, which between them lead coali-
tion governments throughout most of
the last century, were both under the
thumb of special interests and system-
atically abused their position of power
and on the boards of publicly owned
banks and funds to grant subsidies and
loans on favourable terms and hand
out privileged patronage (such as jobs,
both in the public and private sectors)
to their clientele—in return for finan-
cial support.
In the IP-case they systematically
bought votes through direct bribes
and used their longstanding control
over City Hall in Reykjavík to build up
a vast system of patronage to maintain
the party’s grip on power at all costs.
Favouritism, nepotism, crony-capital-
ism—all those political vices that we
normally associate with the mafia and
undermine the basic foundations of the
rule of law—were widespread and con-
taminating, long before the latter day
banksters came to the fore and ruined
the country.
In the case of Dr. Whitehead’s book
(“Soviet-Iceland: An Unfinished Revo-
lution”) the author emphasises the vul-
nerability and inherent weakness of the
Icelandic state, in this case in the face
of a possible communist insurgency
during the troubled times of the great
depression. With no army and an un-
armed police force, the embryonic Ice-
landic state was in fact unable to defend
itself against any well-organised and
armed group determined to overthrow
it.
The fall of 2008 has mercilessly dis-
closed the underlying weaknesses of
the young Icelandic republic. Not only
is it still today unable to defend itself
against potential outside aggressors.
But what about enemies from within?
It is for instance highly doubtful that
the (politically appointed) judiciary sys-
tem is able to deal with cases of inter-
national fraud, such as those that have
shaken the republic to its foundation, or
to bring fraudulent businessmen and
corrupt politicians to justice. Not a sin-
gle one of the oligarchs who robbed the
Icelandic banks from within have so far
been brought to justice. Many of them
still retain control of their companies.
Many have even been granted gener-
ous debt-relief by the new banks (under
state supervision) under the guise of
financial restructuring.
The Icelandic state, heavily indebted
and having lost its credit worthiness, is
utterly dependent on outside help. We
need such outside help in negotiating
the terms for our debt repayment—
also for rescheduling our debt and to
secure access to financial markets on
manageable terms. And we need help
in restoring our national currency to a
modicum of functionality after it has
lost all credibility, domestically as well
as abroad. And we need direct foreign
investment to harness our valuable re-
sources of clean and renewable energy
to generate income to pay our debts and
restore our economy back to health.
DO WE DARE?
Looking towards the future, the key-
word in formulating any solution is
cooperation – cooperation with friendly
neighbours in order to get us out of the
black hole into which we have fallen.
We are not alone in this. Other nations,
considerably more numerous than we
are, also find themselves in such dire
straits that they need temporary help to
overcome their difficulties.
But in our case we have yet to an-
swer the basic question: Do we, despite
our setback, have the self-confidence
not only to learn from our mistakes,
but to enter into international coopera-
tion as a fully f ledged sovereign state,
with both rights and obligations? Or are
we going to continue blaming others
for our misfortunes, looking inwards
in sulking anger, cultivating a self-
imposed martyrdom, suspicious of our
neighbours and glorifying in our “he-
roic” standing alone against all comers?
This is what I have called the “Serbia
syndrome.” Is that really the example
we want to follow?
This is what the EU-issue—to join
or not to join—is all about. It is primar-
ily about us. Do we have full confidence
in our ability to cooperate with our
Nordic neighbours on an equal basis
and within the structures of European
democracy, where we belong? Or do we
not dare?
</2010 NEWS>
SEPTEMBER
While Magma Energy
and the national church
dominated the head-
lines, Jenis av Rana,
chairman of the Chris-
tian Centrist Party of the
Faeroe Islands, told
Faeroese media that for
Icelandic Prime Minister
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
to come to the Faeroe Islands with her wife
was "a defiance of the Bible." Legislators from
both countries have harshly denounced the
MP's remarks. The month finished off with
parliament voting in favour of charging former
Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde with neglect
and mismanagement that helped contribute
to the economic collapse. He will be tried in a
national court in 2011.
OCTOBER
This month started with
anti-government pro-
tests from different
groups with different
goals. While the first
protest saw some thou-
sands attend, subse-
quent protests featured
far lower numbers, and
would eventually peter
out by the year’s end. While the government
decided that the investigative committee on
Magma Energy’s sale of HS Orka had given
the green light for the sale, a panel comprised
of former committee members and Björk
Guðmundsdóttir contended that the govern-
ment could still block the sale on the ground
of imminent domain. every media source in
the country except Grapevine ignored this
news. A Reykjavík city council proposal that
would ban church officials from proselytizing
in play schools was strongly contested by the
church, but would eventually pass.
NOVEMBER
Paul Ramses, arguably
Iceland's most famous
asylum seeker, an-
nounced that he was
running for president of
Iceland. It also came to
light that the US em-
bassy was engaging in
surveillance of private
citizens living in the
neighbourhood around the building, with
some reports that security firm Securitas had
been hired at one point to root through the
trash cans of people living on the same street
as the embassy. The embassy denied that it
was engaging in spying, saying that it was
only looking for suspicious behaviour. Contro-
versy arose when the Grapevine reported that
the Blood Bank was turning away people who
couldn’t speak Icelandic. The strong response
this story generated led to the Blood Bank re-
considering this policy.
DECEMBER
Elections for the consti-
tutional assembly con-
cluded, with one of the
lowest voter turnouts
ever, and a general
sense of cynicism and
disappointment as it
seemed well-known
Icelandic figures all
scored a seat, even if
some of them didn’t seem to have any plat-
form at all. As WikiLeaks’ infodump of thou-
sands of diplomatic cables generated world
attention, Iceland stepped up to assist the
website, with private companies offering to
serve as proxies for donations, and parliament
again voicing its support for WikiLeaks. The
year concluded as it began: with Icesave. A
new deal was reached between Iceland, Brit-
ain and Holland with much fairer terms. The
President hinted that he might again refuse to
sign the deal into law. To which we can only
say “oh god please no, not more Icesave”.
News | Paul NikolovLots Of News | Paul Nikolov
The Stories That Made 2010The Last Decade: What Happened?
The first decade of the millennium is
over, and you know what that means -
it’s time for some retrospection.
2001
While this was a
pretty big year for
just about everyone
in the world, things
were relatively calm
here in the land of fire and ice. Except
that widening cracks at the bottom of
the lake Kleifarvatn in the southwest
began to literally drain the lake of its
water, to the point where it reached
only 20% of its volume (and it’s over 90
metres deep in parts). Iceland also be-
gan its hydrogen energy program. Re-
member that? The hydrogen powered
bus, the hydrogen filling station in the
eastern part of town, Iceland poised
on the brink of launching a revolution
in how vehicles are run. Yeah. Heady
times.
2002
When then Chinese
president Jiang Ze-
min paid Iceland
an official visit, the
Icelandic govern-
ment wanted to be sure he had a warm
welcome. In keeping with that, they ar-
rested Falun Gong protesters at Kefla-
vík airport and kept them detained at a
nearby school. They also had airports
across the United States block Falun
Gong members from boarding planes
to Iceland, the New York Times re-
ported at the time. Wrongful arrest and
detention lawsuits were inevitably won,
but the move set a tone about the gov-
ernment’s attitude towards protests in
Iceland, which would carry over many
years later.
2003
In this year, cable
television giant
Nickelodeon agreed
to produce Lazy-
town in Garðabær,
Iceland, putting the country on the
map as the producers of its first ever
exported children’s show, which would
become an international hit. It was
also the year President Ólafur Ragnar
Grímsson married Dorrit Moussaieff.
The President marrying a foreigner
rubbed a few people the wrong way,
but Dorrit was soon beloved by most
Icelandic people, and her love of Ice-
land is well-known. Stórasta land í
heimi! Also in this year, the privatisa-
tion of Iceland’s banks was completed,
thereby assuring a strong and enduring
economy.
2004
The President again
stole the spotlight
this year, for two
reasons. First off, a
media bill—backed
by Davíð Oddsson and designed to
limit how much control over the me-
dia a single company could have—was
passed in parliament, but the president
refused to sign it. Up until this point,
Icelandic presidents had acted more or
less like figureheads, greeting foreign
VIPs but exercising little actual power.
This was the first time a president had
ever refused to sign a law. Subsequent-
ly, Ólafur was re-elected president.
2005
Iceland kicked off
the year when the
Movement for Ac-
tive Democracy
bought a full page
of ad space in The New York Times to
issue an apology to the Iraqi people,
on behalf of Iceland, for the country
taking part in the “coalition of the will-
ing.” And while the group continued to
press for answers as to how we ended
up on that list in the first place, this
was soon drowned out by the noise
that arose when chess legend Bobby
Fischer was rubber-stamped Icelandic
citizenship and arrived in the country
to much fanfare. Eighteen hours later,
he held a press conference where he
ranted about the global Jewish con-
spiracy, and then never spoke to the
media again.
2006
These were the hey-
days of the Icelandic
economy. Everyone
had a flatscreen TV,
at least two SUVs, a
McMansion in Mosfellsbær and wallets
bursting with 5.000 krónur notes. Con-
servatives smirked, liberals grumbled.
Also, municipal elections were held,
and the Progressive Party in Reykjavík
was accused of having paid foreign-
ers to vote for them. The Progressives
denied the allegations, which were
never proven. Oh, also, internationally
celebrated deCODE genetics reported
over 530 million USD in losses, and that
they had in fact never turned a profit.
2007
Parliamentary elec-
tions this year saw
the Conservatives
and the Social Dem-
ocrats join forces, in
what was to be an ill-fated union that
would end halfway through its term. At
the same time, the majority coalition
in Reykjavík city hall—the Conserva-
tives and the Progressives—fell apart,
marking the first time a sitting majority
in city hall didn’t finish out its term. I
guess you could say 2007 was a portent
of further deconstruction.
2008
I suppose it goes
without saying that
the economic col-
lapse in the fall of
this year was Ice-
land’s single biggest story. The banks,
which had swelled to many times the
size of the country’s GDP, fell apart.
Iceland defaulted on Icesave depos-
its made by foreign clients. This time
around, popular protests weren’t being
held by a few “fringe” activists, but by
thousands of Icelanders, who stood in
front of parliament and demanded that
the government step down.
2009
The Independence
Party/Social Demo-
crat alliance con-
ceded power, and
emergency elections
were held. This ushered in Iceland’s
first leftist government ever, comprised
of the now-sitting Social Democrats
and the Leftist-Greens. To foreign ob-
servers, the elections were more no-
table in that Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
not only became our first female prime
minister, but was also the first openly
gay head of state in modern times.
Few Icelanders actually cared about
that point, as we were too busy talking
about Icesave.
2010
Does any one news
story sum up 2010
better than the
President’s veto of
the Icesave law and
the subsequent referendum that buried
it? It’s doubtful. Just when we thought
we’d be able to stop hearing about Ic-
esave, the President trolls us. That’s
pretty much what this decade has been
like—getting up, reaching for the prize,
and stumbling again. That the people
overwhelmingly voted to kill the law is
a more positive testament to the coun-
try’s resolve. Even with our economy in
tatters, we could—no, had to—exercise
some control over our fate. That strug-
gle continues into the New Year.