Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.03.2011, Blaðsíða 11

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 3 — 2011 Egill Helgason is a man of many talents, in case you were wondering.
Besides running a political talk show on Icelandic State TV, he also runs a
literary programme there. And he blogs a lot for website Eyjan.is. Busy man!
Analysis | Egill Helgason
For many generations of Ice-
landers there hasn’t been
a time when our President,
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson,
wasn’t around in some form or the oth-
er. He is a man of extraordinary political
skills—he might even be called a politi-
cal acrobat—but many doubt whether
this is matched by convictions or integ-
rity. All the same, his career is an in-
teresting case study in political acumen
and survival.
Ólafur Ragnar was born and bred in
the Westfjords of Iceland. People there
are known to be argumentative and
very interested in politics. Stories are
still told of legendary political meetings
in the Westfjords from the old days.
Social Democrats were always quite
strong in the region, and Ólafur Rag-
nar's father, who was known simply as
Grímur the barber, was a leading Social
Democrat in the town of Ísafjörður.
EARLy AMBITIONS
There is a famous photograph of Ólafur
Ragnar standing at the harbour in the
village of Þingeyri, where his grandpar-
ents lived. He is a rather chubby boy,
standing alone beside the limousine of
then president Sveinn Björnsson who
was visiting the village. This is in some
ways prescient, indicating his great
ambitions from the outset and the fact
that he has nearly always been a lone
wolf in politics.
Ólafur Ragnar went to England to
study political science. When he came
home he became the founder of the
Department of Political Science within
the University of Iceland, and its first
professor. He was also active in televi-
sion. He was the presenter of a series
of very controversial programmes; in
one of them he interrogated a group
of the country’s most eminent bank-
ers—all political appointees—as if they
were crooks. This was very extreme in
the political climate of early ‘70s Ice-
land, and Ólafur Ragnar was promptly
booted from television.
In this period Ólafur Ragnar pre-
sented himself as a young man who
wanted to reform the Icelandic party
system, bringing together various left
parties and factions. His first attempt
was within the Progressive Party, tra-
ditionally a farmers’ party that some-
times veered to the left, sometimes to
the right. Ólafur and his group of young
men wanted to steer the party to the
left and start working with the Social
Democrat party of that time (Alþýðu-
flokkurinn)—then in government with
the large right wing Independence
Party and the socialist People’s Alliance
(Alþýðubandalagið).
THE SOCIALIST PERIOD
The leaders of the Progressive Party
were mainly interested in guarding
prominent party members’ business
interests and had limited tolerance for
Ólafur Ragnar and his antics. Finally
most of his group left the party, many
never to return to politics. Ólafur Rag-
nar, however, resurfaced within the
aforementioned People’s Alliance, the
strongest party on the left, which dated
back to the Socialist Party of Iceland
(which dated back to its Communist
Party).
The party had mostly shed its com-
munist past—it had been in govern-
ment from 1971 to 1974—and Ólafur
Ragnar surely was no communist. Still
he wasn’t altogether popular amongst
the party’s members. Many considered
him an outsider and an opportunist.
So even if he eventually became party
chair, quite a large faction had great
loathing for him, even if he was toler-
ated for practical reasons.
A VERy UNPOPULAR MAN
In many ways during that period Ólafur
Ragnar was the most unpopular politi-
cian in Iceland. Sure, he had a group of
supporters, mostly young people who
wanted to move the old socialist party
to the right and forge alliances with the
Social Democrats, but he was also de-
tested by the right.
This was somewhat due to his man-
ner of making politics. He was always
outspoken, definitely clever, and he was
considered arrogant and ruthless. Even
after losing his seat in Parliament, Óla-
fur Ragnar became Minister of Finance
from 1988-1991. This earned him the
moniker ‘skattmann’ (“taxman”). There
was little love between Ólafur Ragnar
and Davíð Oddsson, the up and com-
ing strongman of the right (and future
Prime Minister for thirteen years)—in
one instance Ólafur Ragnar described
Davíð as having “a shitty nature” in a
Parliament speech. The feud between
the two has been a mainstay of the Ice-
landic political scene for decades (un-
til recently, when they found common
ground).
A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE,
A MELLOWER MAN
Thus it was quite a surprise when Óla-
fur Ragnar ran for president in 1996.
He had kept quiet for a year before it
and duly resurfaced as a new man, as-
toundingly fair and balanced. Gone was
the political fighter. His main asset was
his charming wife who everyone liked—
up to that almost no focus had been on
politicians’ wives in Iceland. The right
was quite shocked when Davíð Odds-
son and the Independence Party tried
to field a candidate against Ólafur Rag-
nar, a judge from the High Court from a
very illustrious family was dubbed their
candidate. But compared to Ólafur Rag-
nar he seemed very boring. What then
clinched the election for him was when
a group of business leaders published
an advertisement in the media, stat-
ing that Ólafur Ragnar was unfit to be
president. This had exactly the opposite
effect on the voting population.
Even so, Ólafur Ragnar only got 41
percent of the vote, beating three other
candidates.
PARTyING WITH THE TyCOONS
The Icelandic President is elected by a
general referendum. However, he is a
ceremonial figure by tradition. Before
Ólafur Ragnar, presidents never got
involved in politics. And for the first
years, Ólafur Ragnar was on his best
behaviour, even though he was still de-
tested by the right and its main news-
paper, Morgunblaðið. He looked the
job, being tall, grey and distinguished
and becoming fitter as he grew older.
His wife, Guðrún Katrín Þorbergsdóttir,
sadly died from cancer in 1998. A few
years later, he went on to marry Dor-
rit Moussaieff, a wealthy socialite from
London who brought extra glamour to
his presidency. The couple were a reg-
ular feature in the gossip press—which
would have been a ‘faux pas’ with previ-
ous presidents.
Then came the time of the Business
Vikings, the tycoons that made Iceland
a fabulously hip place for a while and
then promptly bankrupted the country.
Ólafur Ragnar became the great friend
and patron of these young men. They
were often invited to his residence in
Bessastaðir, he rode in their private jets,
he spoke at parties and ceremonies
describing them in the most glowing
terms, often calling them modern day
wizards. It is generally agreed that he
went too far in his support, and he him-
self has admitted to it. After the crash of
October 2008 Ólafur Ragnar became a
figure of ridicule, mocked in the media
as no other Icelandic president before
him.
REINVENTING THE CONSTITUTION
Traditionally, the Icelandic President
can sit peacefully as long as he likes.
It is considered bad form to run against
a president in office—there are zero
instances of ‘real candidates’ running
against a president. This underlines
the quasi-regal nature of the job. But,
then, presidents have traditionally nev-
er rocked the boat. Ólafur Ragnar had
larger ambitions, he is a man who en-
joys power and has an eye on history.
When he first ran for president Óla-
fur Ragnar indicated that he might use
a dormant clause in the constitution
stating that the president can veto bills
passed by Parliament. After a presiden-
tial veto, bills are to be subjected to a
general referendum. Eight years in of-
fice, President Ólafur Ragnar struck,
vetoing a media bill that was a key issue
for his old foe, then-PM Davíð Oddsson.
Davíð, by then becoming increasingly
erratic, simply withdrew the bill and
there was no referendum. But his party
strongly advocated that the power of
veto be taken from the president.
LAME DUCK TURNS FOLK HERO
After the airing of a particularly bit-
ing edition of comedy programme
‘Áramótaskaupið’ on New Year’s Eve
2008—a show traditionally watched by
every Icelander—Ólafur Ragnar defi-
nitely seemed a lame duck president
with little hope of restoring his reputa-
tion. After a year of quiet humility, he
struck again on January 5 2010, veto-
ing a bill that Parliament had narrowly
passed during the last days of 2009 (the
bill revolved around the hotly debated
Icesave debt, supposedly owed by Ice-
land to the UK and Holland). This was
much to the chagrin of the current left-
wing government, manned to a certain
extent by Ólafur Ragnar’s old party
comrades, friends and foes alike. A na-
tional referendum followed, resulting in
a resounding no to that particular Ic-
esave bill. Ólafur Ragnar was suddenly
hero of the day, not least to his old en-
emies on the right who were overjoyed
with the government’s debacle.
The government had to re-negotiate
on Icesave, and in the last months of
2010 reached a new agreement, one
admittedly far superior to the one voted
down in the referendum. A large par-
liamentary majority passed ‘Icesave 3’
after heavy discussion, but on February
20 Ólafur Ragnar also struck down that
bill. Thus, we now await another refer-
endum on Icesave, this one set for April
9.
A COUP D'éTAT?
This has totally changed the President’s
situation. Ólafur Ragnar has claimed
that he is the guardian of the people’s
will against a Parliament sadly lacking
in trust. He has also moved about the
world, giving candid interviews to the
international media, often saying things
the government doesn’t approve of.
Some compare this to a ‘coup d'état’,
saying that Ólafur Ragnar is taking
powers into his hands that his prede-
cessors traditionally did not have, thus
jeopardising our representative democ-
racy. But in the present political climate
the government is too weak to confront
him.
Interestingly, Ólafur Ragnar’s base
of followers has also shifted. Accord-
ing to recent polls he is most popular
on the right, among those who oppose
the present government. Even his old
enemy, Davíð Oddsson, has grudgingly
become one of his, well, not admirers,
but temporary supporters. Aside from
opposing Icesave, the two also share
a suspicious attitude to Iceland joining
the European Union.
A FIFTH TERM?
Presidential elections are due in the
summer of 2012. There is talk that Óla-
fur Ragnar has his eye on a fifth term.
But this time there might be a real
candidate opposing him. The elections
could be quite confusing, for there is
no agreement on the pres ident’s role
anymore. Do we want a president who
takes power into his own hands as
Ólafur Ragnar has done—a politician?
Or do we want a president like the old
ones, a figurehead, on good terms with
everybody, basically minding his or her
own business, planting trees or pro-
moting the cultural heritage.
This will eventually have to be re-
solved; in fact this was supposed to
be one of the topics discussed by a
Constitutional Assembly that was to
convene this winter. Elections for the
assembly were held in November, but
due to technicalities they were annulled
by Iceland’s High Court. So here we are,
basically at square one, with a presi-
dent who makes his own rules as he
goes along and an outdated, muddled
constitution.
But Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is an
interesting phenomenon. He is a con-
summate political actor who has an un-
canny ability to reinvent himself. Nowa-
days he basically has no real friends or
allies in politics, but still he goes on. He
is viewed by some as a folk hero who
stood by his nation when the political
class failed, others have not forgotten
his past and his close ties to tycoons,
viewing him as a populist who has no
agenda, save for himself and his vain-
glory
Words
Egill Helgason
Illustration
Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir
The Amazing Political Acrobat:
President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and his vetoes
“Interestingly, Ólafur Ragnar’s base of followers has also shifted. According to
recent polls he is most popular on the right, among those who oppose the present
government. Even his old enemy, Davíð Oddsson, has grudgingly become one of
his, well, not admirers, but temporary supporters.”