Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.02.2017, Síða 12

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 02 — 2017
12
Iceland lost a little credibility in 2016.
It has, in fact, become the most cor-
rupt of the Nordic countries, accord-
ing to the latest results from Trans-
parency International’s Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI). A look at their
methodology revealed a number of
reasons for the shift.
The data shows Iceland is now
ranked in 14th place, with their CPI
score dipping from 79 in 2015 to 78 in
2016 (a score of 0 means “highly cor-
rupt” while 100 means “very clean”).
This is the lowest score Iceland has
received since 2013, and makes it the
most corrupt of the Nordic nations.
Surprisingly, the Panama Papers
received no mention in the CPI. How-
ever, TI’s blog published a post shortly
after the leak last April that did men-
tion Iceland; notably, they actually
praised Iceland for being “the only
country that jailed top financial ex-
ecutives behind bars in the aftermath
of the 2008 financial crisis,” adding
that “[o]n the positive side, partly as a
result of the banking collapse, Iceland
has a robust and independent free me-
dia, which has reported vigilantly on
the prime minister’s conduct and con-
tinued to question him on his undis-
closed financial affairs.”
This naturally raises the question:
how exactly does Transparency Inter-
national measure levels of corruption
perception?
In a short methodology note with
the CPI, Transparency International
says they measure corruption per-
ception by “aggregat[ing] data from a
number of different sources that pro-
vide perceptions of business people
and country experts of the level of
corruption in the public sector.” Tak-
ing a look at the XLSX file of their data
set, it is possible to see exactly which
business people and country experts
expressed their perceptions about
Iceland.
Most striking of all is the fact that
Iceland’s lowest rank came from Sus-
tainable Governance Indicators [SGI].
In their summary, SGI outline a num-
ber of areas where Iceland could stand
to improve. These include, but are not
limited to, the following:
“Public debt remains very high, with
future prospects clouded by unfund-
ed public-pension obligations. Finan-
cial troubles at key public institutions
threaten fiscal sustainability further.”
“Income inequality dropped signifi-
cantly in the financial crisis’ wake,
but private-debt levels are high. Pen-
sions and welfare benefits were cut in
the crisis, increasing social-exclusion
risk.”
“Media content is strongly influenced
by owners’ agendas, and politicians
have sought to interfere with public-
media reporting. A proposed new
constitution and voting system were
supported by strong majorities in a
non-binding public referendum in
2012, but parliament has refused to
ratify the draft constitution.”
“The Prime Minister’s Office has rela-
tively minimal sectoral expertise. Min-
istries have considerable autonomy in
drafting policy. Long-term strategic
planning is often vague, with inconsis-
tent follow-through.”
“Despite a generally well-informed
public, voter turnout has dropped sig-
nificantly particularly among young
people, in parallel with a decline in pol-
icy interest and trust in politicians. The
media provides in-depth information
on state policy, but reporting can be af-
fected by owners’ financial interests.”
Perhaps most telling of all in this
summary is the fact that these are
problems Iceland has faced for years
now. Neither protests nor successive
right- or left-wing governments have
made headway in tackling these prob-
lems. If Iceland hopes to get out of the
rut it has been in since 2013, and ear-
lier, our new ruling coalition will have
to confront these issues. How, or even
if, they will do so remains to be seen.
Although the name “Hel” hails back
to ancient Norse mythology, Iceland’s
Naming Committee believes it would
only cause problems for a child so
named. RÚV reports that a couple who
are registered in the Ásatrú Society, a
pagan religious organisation that hon-
ours the ancient Norse gods, put in a
request with the Naming Committee
to name their daughter Hel. In Norse
mythology, Hel is the daughter of Loki,
who rules over the underworld of the
same name and receives a portion of
the dead.
While the Naming Committee
agreed that the name is in harmony
with Icelandic grammar and does not
conflict with the language, they ruled
that the name could cause social dif-
ficulties for the child. It is also for this
reason that Icelanders cannot name
their children Skessa (a female troll) or
Þrjótur (villain), despite those names
also being grammatically declinable.
Iceland’s Naming Committee over-
sees which new names may be added to
the Icelandic lexicon. There are a num-
ber of criteria that prospective names
need to fulfill, such as declining in ac-
cordance with Icelandic grammar, or
having a historical precedent in Ice-
landic archives or literature.
The Committee has its share of
supporters and detractors, but is now
just one round of voting away from be-
coming a thing of the past. A new bill
from the Ministry of the Interior pro-
poses a number of sweeping changes
to Iceland’s naming laws. Amongst the
conditions in Iceland’s current nam-
ing laws that would be struck down if
the bill passes are the following:
1. The condition that the name be
able to abide by Icelandic grammar.
2. The condition that male children
have male names and female children
have female names.
3. The condition that first names not
be “embarrassing.”
4. Restrictions on the use of family
names (instead of patronyms).
For their part, the Committee have
strong objections to many of these
changes. They have cautioned, for ex-
ample, that without laws about what
are boys’ names and girls’ names, “it
would be possible to name a boy Þorg-
erður [a female name] and a girl Sig-
mundur [a male name].” They add that,
in the event the bill passes into law, “it
will be impossible to avoid disputes
that arise over names and their reg-
istration.” The bill as it is now states
that “if a minister, head of a religious
organisation or the National Registry
believes that a first or middle name
violates the law, it will be referred to
the [Minister of the Interior].”
Former Reykjavík mayor Jón Gnarr
(born Jón Gunnar Kristinsson) has
long been an opponent of the Naming
Committee, as they have repeatedly
blocked his attempts to legally change
his name to the one by which he has
been known for years. Jón managed to
get around this in 2015, by having his
name legally changed in the US. If the
bill goes through, the next generation
of Icelandic parents might not have to
travel so far.
Iceland Got A Little
More Corrupt In 2016
The new government has
its work cut out for it
Iceland’s Naming
Committee Rejects “Hel”
Words
PAUL
FONTAINE
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Words
PAUL
FONTAINE
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ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
Not A
Chance
In Hel
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