Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.02.2018, Síða 21

21The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 02 — 2018
more people becoming isolated, and
how to make our society more inclusive
and humane. I think the social aware-
ness of this generation is very posi-
tive—there is a lot of knowledge about
environmental issues, feminism and,
for example, the correlation between
two of mankind’s greatest problems:
climate change and the refugee crisis.”
Will you be creating a ministry
of loneliness or make that a part
of some ministerial portfolio?
“I think it should be a part of mine,” she
laughs, “but I also think this is a ques-
tion of how we approach problems. Do
we look at them from the point of view
of individuals or as a part of society?
I prefer to not look at them not as in-
dividual cases, but to try to find social
solutions, and that is part of what my
movement is all about. The same goes
for issues like health.”
Do your coalition partners agree?
“I think we are moving closer to this
type of thinking.”
So the emphasis on individuality
that was predominant in the
first decade of the century is
decreasing, even in the parties
that once championed it?
“I can’t really speak for the other parties,
but I can speak for government policy.
We are 330,000 in this country and we
have to look at our society as a collab-
orative project. Perhaps the pendulum
is now swinging in this direction after
having swung very far in the other.”
You are only the second female
Prime Minister in our history,
and now the #Metoo revolution
is taking place. A lot seems to
be changing, but it’s harder to
predict where it will lead.
“I have three sons, and I am also con-
sidering what it must be like to be a
boy. That’s not always easy either, in a
discussion like this. And many wom-
en are looking back and wondering
whether they have been forced to ac-
cept behaviour that is unacceptable be-
cause nobody cared to listen. I think it’s
good that everyone thinks about these
things for themselves, but we also
have to deal with these issues as a so-
ciety rather than hanging people up on
posts. How can we change the culture?”
That seems to cross the old
left-right faultlines. What
can government do and
how much should it do?
“I have set agendas in the various min-
istries that they look at what has been
going on internally. We will be doing
the same with all public institutions,
and checking that everyone has con-
tingency plans. But it’s not just about
rules and legislation—it’s also having
a debate about how we can become a

society where such things as sexual
assault and harassment don’t happen.
I, as a feminist, never tire of talking
about these things with people, espe-
cially men. We are all part of the gen-
der system, and many men consider
it an attack upon them when these is-
sues are discussed, but it is important
to discuss them. I had a meeting this
morning with the ambassadors of the
EU states, and there was one woman
at the table apart from me and my ad-
visor. I commented on this, without
attacking anyone. I think it’s always
helpful to wear the gender glasses, al-
though some people probably find it
annoying.”
Iceland has often been named as
the best place in the world to be a
woman. Do you agree with this?
“A foreign journalist asked me recently
whether we had achieved equality and
I said, when we have had 30 female
Prime Ministers in a row, just as there
have been men, maybe the answer will
be yes. It’s great that we have made ad-
vances in terms of equality, but we still
haven’t achieved gender balance. We
still have a pay gap, violence towards
women, and so on. People ask me, in
regard to the #Metoo movement, if I
have ever experienced anything like
this, and my answer is that every wom-
an has. And many men too. It’s just that
we have now started talking about it.”
And what should you do if you have?
“You should always confront people.”
Directly?
“Yes. And make your boundaries very
clear. Don’t be afraid of being annoying.”
Literary Dreams
& Paternal Leave
Katrín has previously made her mark
on how women in politics are per-
ceived. As noted above, she was preg-
nant when she became Minister of
Education and subsequently went on
maternal leave. This did cause some
debate at the time, but sometimes
things happen first in Iceland and oth-
er countries follow.
You were the first minister in Ice-
land to be pregnant while in office.
This has now become an issue for
the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
“Good on her! I already have three, so
I don’t think I will join her, but I fully
support her. Soon after I became preg-
nant, the Minister of Industry did too.
This was considered a major issue, and
we set a precedent for how to deal with
it. Many thought I was leaving politics
and that was discussed in the media. I
found that very strange.”
Do you think it would be
different today?
“It is fundamental for equality that
women should not have to choose be-
tween career and family. Politicians
here have produced some results. The
centre-left city council in Reykjavík
made great improvements in kinder-
garten accessibility, after being elected
in 1994, and women’s participation in
the workforce increased drastically as
a result. The same was true of extend-
ing maternity leave to include paternal
leave, too. We can change things.”
Finally, you are well known for
your love of crime fiction. Has this
prepared you for life in politics?
“Yes,” she says and laughs. “Trust no
one. As they say, only the paranoid sur-
vive. But I read fiction every evening,
both crime fiction and general litera-
ture, and if I am travelling I start to
panic if I don’t have a novel with me. I
don’t feel that TV or computers or any-
thing else can substitute. Literature is a
tool for self-help and self-knowledge—
crime fiction perhaps for the former
and literary fiction for the latter.”
So what do you think you will
do when this job is done?
“I am a great believer in planning for
the long-term in politics, but I never
make long-term plans for myself. In
politics, you are never quite in control
of what happens—you can only try to
deal with the tasks before you and then
events take their course.”
Would you want to write
a novel yourself ?
“In politics, you are always full of
adrenaline, and I would need to find
that inner peace to sit down and write.
To tell you the truth, it is my dream to
write fiction, but I would be terrified of
pouring my heart out and then getting
bad reviews.”
And so we return to our respective
jobs, me as novelist and she to running
the country. She makes a joke about
trading places, but frankly, I would
rather not. I will take the odd bad re-
view over battling every day in the
down and dirty world of Icelandic poli-
tics. Then again, I am not really a great
enthusiast of crime fiction.
“I initially joined
the Left-Greens
because of the
Kárahnjúkar
Dam. That was
when I decided
that this was
my party.”
The prime minister allowed Grapevine to follow her for a day in the campaign.
This photo was taken in the end of october. Photo by Art Bicnick