Iceland review - 2013, Side 28

26 ICELAND REVIEW
the recorders couldn’t catch anything because of the noise around us.
the pictures were published widely and many tried to make out what
Jóhanna had said to me. Was it: ‘i’m sorry, dear Jón,’ or, ‘let’s carry on
as if nothing happened’?
“i guess it’s safe now, more than twenty years later, to reveal the secret.
the truth is that Jóhanna snapped at me: ‘leave me alone, you bastard!’”
in 1994, Jóhanna challenged Jón Baldvin as chair of the sdp and lost.
not at all pleased with the outcome, she gave a fiery speech, declaring
with a raised fist: “My time will come!” she then left the party, founded
Þjóðvakinn (national awakening; na), which in 2000 became part of the
sda.
STEPPiNg oN ToES
“ever since Jóhanna entered parliament in 1978 she has firmly stood by
her beliefs which has resulted in struggles with both fellow party members
and opponents,” explains Jóhanna Vigdís. “Jóhanna has sometimes had
to use force to push her policies through and doesn’t give an inch.”
according to friðrik, Jóhanna found an unexpected ally during her fight
with Jón Baldvin. “guess who stepped up for her? none other than davíð
oddsson. he helped her a lot,” he reveals. “she certainly didn’t repay
that favor: firing him and the other Central Bank governors without even
talking to them first,” he adds in reference to Jóhanna’s first task as prime
Minister in 2009. davíð became a governor of the Central Bank of iceland
in 2005 and held the position during the banking collapse.
acknowledging that Jóhanna can be difficult to work with, friðrik also
has good things to say about her. “We were in different parties but i
considered her a friend rather than a foe. i was the finance Minister and
she the Minister for social affairs, a huge and expensive ministry, so it
was inevitable that our ideas would clash. it took a long time to negotiate.
But once agreements had been reached, i could trust that she would back
them up and stand by her words one hundred percent.”
“she is certainly stubborn,” agrees steingrímur J. sigfússon, former
chair of Vinstrihreyfingin – grænt framboð (left green Movement; lgM),
current Minister of industries and innovation and Jóhanna’s closest
co-worker of the past four years. “of course we didn’t always agree as
leaders of two different parties but we successfully solved our issues as
allies and our good cooperation has been a very important cementing
factor throughout.”
govErNMENT of CraSH
Jóhanna served as Minister of social affairs and social security in the
ip-sda coalition, which came into power in 2007 and was terminated in
January 2009, a few months after the banks collapsed in october 2008.
Jóhanna’s critics state that she must have known about the economy’s
poor condition.
“i had as Mp called for answers on the condition of the banks many
times and criticized various aspects of their work methods. all my
doubts and concerns were dismissed as unnecessary,” she reasons.
“after i entered the government these issues didn’t fall under my
ministry and were hardly ever discussed in the cabinet.”
Jóhanna Vigdís points out that Jóhanna had decided to retire after
the term that began in 2007. “But then the situation changed. the
banks collapsed and ingibjörg sólrún [gísladóttir, foreign Minister and
sda chair at the time] fell ill and in the eleventh hour she and Jóhanna
agreed that Jóhanna would take over as pM.”
ingibjörg sólrún terminated her coalition with prime Minister geir h.
haarde and on february 1, 2009, the sda forged a minority government
with the lgM—the first all-left government in iceland’s history—whose
authority was reaffirmed in the election the following spring.
MakiNg HiSTory
“even though she had decided to quit, Jóhanna took on the job
wholeheartedly and with full force,” states Jóhanna Vigdís, albeit
stressing that this is not her opinion of the government’s policy. “she
will always be remembered for having taken over after the banking
collapse. few government leaders have taken on a more difficult task
in iceland’s history.”
this is echoed by Jóhanna when asked what stands out in her career.
“Without any doubt the four plus years that i’ve worked as prime
Minister,” she says, describing it as both demanding and rewarding.
“i maintain that no other government in the republic’s history has
taken over a national economy in such a poor state and reversed it as
efficiently as we have done in one term.”
Jóhanna made history in becoming the first woman to serve as
prime Minister of iceland. however, globally, Jóhanna garnered more
attention for being the world’s first openly gay head of state. that is
not discussed by Jóhanna herself and rarely mentioned in iceland.
“does the sexual orientation of the pM matter?” asks Jóhanna Vigdís.
“icelanders are tolerant. it doesn’t matter whether the pM is a man
or a woman, straight or gay. she came out such a long time ago that
everyone had just gotten used to it.”
farEWEll To arMS
“i interviewed Jóhanna the day she announced that she would resign
and she was very convincing. i really felt she meant it,” states Jóhanna
Vigdís. “i believe that this chapter is finished in her life and that she
looks forward to the next.”
Jóhanna is undecided about her future plans. “to begin with i will
focus on family, of whom i haven’t seen much in the past years.
“of course it is for others to judge what i have achieved but i have
always tried to stay true to my convictions as a social democrat. i’m
satisfied as i leave the political scene,” Jóhanna concludes. 
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir speaks in parliament on November 11, 1987.
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