Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.02.2019, Qupperneq 6

Public perception of corruption in
Icelandic society continues to increase,
according to the latest data from Trans-
parency International.
Iceland is currently in a three-way tie
for for 14th place—with Hong Kong and
Austria—in the organisation's annual
corruption ranking of 180 countries,
putting it far below all other Nordic
nations. Denmark is ranked first, and
is therefore the least corrupt according
to TI’s index, with Finland and Sweden
tied for 3rd and Norway in 7th. Iceland
has fallen one place from last year.
Perception matters
Public perception of corruption, a
separate index with a score from 0
(thoroughly corrupt) to 100 (corrup-
tion-free), continues its increasing
trend. Iceland is currently at a 76 on
that scale, down from 77 the year previ-
ous and 79 in 2015.
Numerous factors likely come into
play when it comes to public percep-
tions of corruption. Nepotism and a
lack of transparency, especially when
it comes to conflict of interest between
politicians and business, are both well-
known phenomena in Iceland.
‘No strategic action’
In addition, a 2018 report from the
Group of States Against Corrup-
tion (GRECO), “called for Iceland to
strengthen its systems to limit risks
of corruption and improper conduct
in government functions and law
enforcement agencies,” noting that
“the government established in 2014
an anti-corruption steering group. It
is striking that in the above context, no
strategic action or dedicated overarch-
ing policy was elaborated by the group
to promote integrity in State institu-
tions.”
GRECO has recommended “more
robust and consistent rules of conduct,
for instance in relation to gifts and
other benefits and contacts with third
parties seeking to influence govern-
ment work, including lobbyists. Addi-
tional measures also need to be taken
concerning revolving doors and parallel
activities.”
I c e l a n d e r s a r e
known for their re-
sourcefulness when
it comes to available
foodstuffs; a trait
borne from times
when not wast-
ing anything was a
matter of survival.
A prime example of
this would be the
infamous Icelandic
svið (singed sheep
fa c e) , b u t l e s s
known are lamb
hearts.
L a m b h e a r t s
are sold season-
ally, in packs of
four, and are usu-
ally dirt cheap, with
over a kilo of meat
amounting to little
more than a few
hundred krónur. But
wait, you say, it’s still
lamb meat; why is it
so much cheaper?
Well for one, it is
surprisingly easy to
overcook hearts. As
the hardest-work-
ing muscle in any
mammal, hearts are
going to be tough
and chewy, even
when cooked prop-
erly. They are also
surprisingly fatty,
which is definitely
not in fashion these
days . Moreover,
lamb hearts are
traditionally associ-
ated with poverty
and hardship. For
many Icelanders, it
is shameful to buy
them. Putting lamb
hearts in your shop-
ping cart is tanta-
mount to announc-
ing to everyone that
you are poor.
All that said, lamb
hearts are an af-
fordable alternative
to steak for those
who still want red
meat in their diet,
and they tend to go
well with red wine
sauce. Just be sure
not to cook them
too long, and ignore
the stares in the
check-out line. AF
Rotten Apples
Iceland is still the most corrupt
Nordic country. Why?
Words:
Andie Fontaine
Photo:
Art Bicnick
First
As we look back on the 10th anniver-
sary of the post-crash protests that
brought down the Icelandic govern-
ment, the root causes of the collapse
were philosophical as much as they
were financial. So we contacted doc-
torate student of philosophy Sævar
Finnbogason to ask: What are the
philosophical aspects of Icelandic
culture that contributed to the 2008
financial collapse?
“If asked to name a single aspect
of Icelandic culture that contributed
to the financial collapse, I think it
would be naivety. At the time, Iceland
was a nation of less than 300,000 peo-
ple and such small societies tends to
be more cohesive and trusting. We
should also remember that, in the
space of a few decades, Iceland had
transitioned from being one of the
poorest nations in Europe, with a sim-
ple resource-based economy, to an
open free-market economy, and, in
1994, a part of the European common
market. After this, Iceland’s small and
unsophisticated domestic financial
sector grew to ten-times the size of
the national GDP in just a decade, com-
paratively bigger than Switzerland or
the UK.
“It is a well-known witticism in Ice-
land that we took to banking with the
same ferocity as the fishermen who
risk their lives to catch as much fish
as they could before the next storm
hit— fish as much as you can while
the going is good. You never know
what the weather will be like tomor-
row. There might be more to this witti-
cism then we like to admit. Icelanders
learned to manage their fish stocks,
let’s hope we have also learned from
the financial collapse of 2008.”
ASK A
Philosopher
Q: What Led To The
2008 Crash?
6 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 02— 2019
FOOD OF ICELAND
NEWS
Lamb
Hearts
A hive of scum and villainy
Words: Andie Fontaine
Photo: Timothée Lambrecq
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