Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.01.2018, Page 10

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10 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • January 1 2018
Are you ready, Madam President ... from page 7
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Ancient Vikings were skilled seamen
who travelled in wooden ships as far
east as Russia and at least as far west
as Newfoundland. The tradition of Icelanders
undertaking voyages continues with the
country’s new ambassador to Canada, Pétur
Ásgeirsson. He travelled with his older son
6,000 kilometers up and down the coasts of
Greenland and then the two of them published
a book about the experience. The book, Á
norðurslóð, ferðasaga frá Grænlandi (On the
Northern Path: A Travel Story from Greenland),
was published in Iceland in November.
The tradition of handmade wooden boats
also continues with our new ambassador. Yes,
indeed, he made a wooden speedboat by hand,
a classic runabout, and brought it with him
to Canada. And, oh yes, in Iceland, he built a
sixteen-foot, Canadian-designed canoe with
Canadian cedar and mahogany. The ambassador
looks forward to the summer when he can sail
our lakes and rivers. All of this and more I
learned from an interview in Ottawa recently.
On the diplomatic level, Pétur spent
four winters in Nuuk, Greenland, as Consul
General – the only foreign diplomat in
Greenland since the Second World War. Before
that, he was, for fourteen years, Director
General of Administration in the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs in Iceland. In that role,
he worked on both the establishment of the
Icelandic embassy in Ottawa and the consulate
general in Winnipeg. Welcome to Canada,
Mr. Ambassador, and smooth sailing ahead –
diplomatic and otherwise.
NEW AMBASSADOR BUILDS BOATS AS
WELL AS DIPLOMATIC RELATIONSHIPS
David Franklin
Montreal, QC
Pétur Ásgeirsson with his older son, Ásgeir Pétursson, habourside at Nuuk
They were enthralled. Not only were they charmed by Vigdís’s
regal presence on screen, they found themselves engaged by the
story of events that led up to her election, the initiatives taken by
Icelandic women to advance equality, Vigdís’s accomplishments
as president – and, yes, the important symbolic role that fashion
played as she represented Iceland around the world. After the
video, the group was filled with questions about Vigdís and the
country’s political landscape, which I did my best to answer, and
then most of the group stayed to watch the video again before
carefully examining the outfits on display in the exhibit hall.
“Surrounded by suit-clad officials,” according to the exhibition’s
program notes, “she was a fearless trailblazer in both word and
deed. This shaping of public image was not least manifested in her
choice of attire, and from the very first she was a symbol of the
elegant modern female, supported by men and women alike.”
“The attire of officials here in Iceland is modeled on that of
other nations,” the program notes go on to say. “Vigdís had no
such role models when she was elected President, nor was she
presented with a well-defined idea of what a female president’s
wardrobe should look like. This was an opportunity that she used
to build, for herself and her nation, a credibility that should not
be underestimated.”
Are You Ready, Madam President? highlighted the importance
of attire, including taste and traditions, in helping to establish and
maintain the credibility of Iceland’s first female president – indeed,
the first female elected head of state anywhere in the world. The
exhibition showed examples of the president’s “power suits,”
her promotion of Icelandic designs and designers, orders and
decorations, and, of course, Iceland’s formal national costume,
the skautbúningar, represented by the one Vigdís inherited from
her mother, Sigríður Eiríksdóttir.
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was more than ready at every step of her
presidency. As a model of grace and representative of the nation,
she became a living embodiment of the ideals of the Fjallkona –
the legendary lady of the mountains who watches over the well-
being of the land and people while guarding the institutions of
their democracy.
The 2018 budget bill
introduced in Alþingi
indicates that the
Icelandic government intends
to propose an amendment to
the social security act, raising
the minimum age for pension
payments in stages from 67 to
70. It provides that the increase
will be two months per year
during the first 12 years and
one month per year during the
next 12 years. The amendment
proposes to put the change
into force on January 1, 2018,
and that the minimum age
for receiving social security
payments shall become 70 in
24 years from that date.
Other tax changes in the
budget bill, which would take
effect at New Year’s, are an
increase in the financial tax
from 20 percent to 22 percent
and a 50 percent increase in
the carbon tax. However, this
increase is still 50 percent
less than provided for in the
financial plan for 2018 to
2022.
The budget provides that
the state treasury’s debts will
decrease by 50 million krónur
(US$476.2 million) next year.
When Bjarni Benediktsson,
minister of finance and
economic affairs, presented the
budget bill in mid-December, he
said that everything indicated
the national economy had
reached the top of its economic
cycle. He said there was no
prospect for as fast a growth in
private consumption over the
next several quarters as there
recently had been. However,
all signs indicated that Iceland
was entering a period of greater
balance in economic affairs
than previously.
Reprinted with permission
from Icelandic News Briefs,
published by KOM PR.
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Iceland’s retirement age increasing to 70
PHOTO: JÓHANNA GUNNARSDÓTTIR