Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.02.2019, Qupperneq 16

16 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 02— 2019
In October 2008, Iceland became the
focus of international attention when
its entire financial system collapsed.
Part of the cause was undoubtedly
connected to Iceland’s tiny currency
being especially vulnerable to shock-
waves from the devastated real estate
market in the US, but the lion’s share of
the blame fell squarely upon the unethi-
cal and illegal practices of Iceland’s
own investment class, many of whom
controlled the banks that were priva-
tised only five years earlier.
The catalyst for the protests was
arguably one man: Independence Party
MP Sigurður Kári Kristjánsson. The
Monday after the crash, as the nation
waited with bated breath to see how
Parliament would respond, Sigurður’s
first order of business was to call for
the sale of alcohol to be permitted in
private shops. This obvious discon-
nect from reality sent many Iceland-
ers to the lawn of Parliament, and the
protests began.
The ruling coalition at the time,
comprised of the Independence Party
and the Social Democrats, continued to
stall, even as protester numbers grew.
The lack of initiative only stoked the
anger of the protesters, and swelled
their numbers. It was only a matter of
time before the whole thing reached
critical mass.
The wind-up
These protests became popularly known
in the international press as the Pots
and Pans Revolution, a translation of
the Icelandic term, búsahaldabyltingin.
It would be difficult to classify the public
response as a revolution, at least not at
first. The early protests were charac-
terised largely by rallies, speeches and
song. Popular public figures assumed
the helm, calling for reform rather than
revolution. That
began to change
quickly, however,
as autumn turned
to winter.
I n N o v e m -
ber 2008, activist
Haukur Hilmars-
son climbed onto
the roof of Parlia-
ment and hoisted
the flag of the
Bónus supermar-
ket chain. While
Haukur regarded
the act as a light-
h e a r t e d s t u n t ,
it was also very
poignant: with a
single image of
a corporate logo
flying high above Iceland’s legislative
body, the iconic image was created of
Iceland’s political class in collusion
with the capitalist class. The following
month, nine people—later to be called
the Reykjavík Nine—attempted to push
their way past security at Parliament to
enter the main hall.
Both of these events set the stage for
police escalation, and heightened anger
amongst the Icelandic citizenry.
New year, old anger
As January 2009 rolled around, the
government went from seeming negli-
gent to being downright irresponsible.
Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde, of the
Independence Party, had hired private
bodyguards, but apart from that, no
visible response to the protest was
made. That would change as the month
wore on.
On January 20th of that year, direct
physical confrontations with the police
had begun. Arrests were ramping up,
along with the use of pepper spray
and tear gas, while protester numbers
continued to grow. The political fallout
also began to take its toll, as ministers
began to resign or announce that they
would not run for office again. By Janu-
ary 26th, it was all over: the government
resigned, an emergency coalition was
formed, and new elections were sched-
uled for later that spring.
But did we learn anything?
Yes, some bankers went to jail. And no,
the government took over the banks
rather than bail them out. This much is
true. Beyond that, pretty much nothing
has changed.
The government that was to follow,
Iceland’s first left-wing government
ever, lasted a single term of four years.
During this time, they tightened the
austerity belt, pissed off the entire
country again during the Icesave deba-
cle, called for a constitutional refer-
endum and then promptly ignored it.
When 2013 rolled
around, Iceland
chose the Inde-
pendence Party
and the Progres-
sive Party—the
same two parties
that paved the way
for the crash—to
lead the country
again.
Today, there is
even talk of priva-
tising the banks
again, as if the
five years span-
ning 2003 to 2008
never happened.
While the tourism
boom is not really
c o m p a r a b l e t o
the pre-crash financial situation, the
economy is still running hot. When, not
if, another crash washes over Iceland,
it’s difficult to say how the people will
respond. But at least there’s a precedent
we can look back at and learn from.
The Protests That
Brought Down The
Government
Have we learned anything since?
Words:
Andie Fontaine
Photo:
Grapevine
Archives
These shields need more egg
“When, not if,
another crash
washes over
Iceland, it’s diffi-
cult to say how
the people will
respond. But at
least there’s a prec-
edent we can look
towards and learn
from.”
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