Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.09.2019, Blaðsíða 4

What Are Icelanders
Talkin! About?
Sparks a-flyin’ in your newsfeed
Words: Andie Fontaine Photo: Art Bicnick
Possibly the hottest topic
in Iceland right now is the
controversy within the ranks of the
police. It turns out that National
Police Commissioner Haraldur
Johannessen is not a popular guy
within his own ranks. Eight out of
Iceland’s nine police chiefs have
filed statements of no confidence
against him, as well as the Police
Federation of Iceland. They have
all characterised his tenure—an
office he has held since 1998—has
been marred by mismanagement,
unnecessary spending, and what
Arinbjörn Snorrason, chair of the
Reykjavík Police Officers Union,
called “ruling by fear”. The highest
authority over the police, Minister
of Justice Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörns-
dóttir, has stated that while Haral-
dur will not be stepping down,
that her Ministry is working on
“reorganising and restructuring”
the police hierarchy. Such changes
may see Haraldur pushed into an
obscure middle-management posi-
tion to mollify him. Only time will
tell.
People are both surprised and
not surprised by recent polling
which shows the Independence
Party at their lowest levels of
support ever. Yes, even lower than
right after the banks collapsed. On
the one hand, this is unsurprising
given the bevvy of unpopular policy
positions the party has taken up.
On the other hand, it is a little bit
surprising, given that the Indepen-
dence Party is more than a politi-
cal party; it’s an Icelandic cultural
institution, and their levels of
support are usually pretty stable,
even in times of tremendous crisis.
Parliamentary elections will be
held in 2021, barring any unfore-
seen circumstances, so it’s entirely
possible this situation won’t last
long.
Icelanders took part in the
Global Climate Strike held on
September 20th, which stands to
reason given that the climate crisis
is melting our glaciers, which could
lead to more volcanic eruptions and
earthquakes, and our shorelines are
already being drastically affected.
Hundreds of Icelanders marched
through downtown Reykjavík to
Austurvöllur, the square in front of
Parliament, to demand the govern-
ment takes action. Meanwhile
on social media, some Icelanders
have swallowed the alt-right talk-
ing points against Swedish climate
activist Greta Thunberg, but these
Icelanders are very few and far
between, and are largely shouted
down by people who actually would
rather not see the end of the world
in their lifetimes. Imagine that.
4The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 17— 2019First
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A fraction of the Icelanders at the Climate Strike
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