Iceland review - 2013, Qupperneq 77

ICELAND REVIEW 75
the parliamentary election in the spring
of 2013 heralded a radical change in
Iceland’s foreign policy. Whereas the
outgoing center-left coalition applied
for membership to the European Union, the
new government of the centrist Progressives
and right-wing Independence Party has put
the accession negotiations on indefinite hold.
Instead, the aim is to look more beyond Europe.
That policy includes the strengthening of rela-
tions with the United States, particularly in con-
nection with the global interest in Arctic issues
where Iceland may conceivably play some role
in the future. In other words, the Icelanders want
to rediscover America, and they would like the
Americans to rediscover Iceland.
kEEPing QuiEt
Let us begin with the initial discoveries. In
the year 1000, there were of course no United
States and no Icelandic state or nation. Iceland
had recently been discovered by Norse settlers
and some of these Norsemen and women dared
to venture further, finding lands to the west of
Iceland. As the Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde
put it, “The Vikings discovered America, but were wise enough to
keep quiet about it.” True enough, news of the Norse voyages did
not reach the world outside Iceland, but the pun also conveys a mes-
sage of mockery or sarcasm. The Norse kept quiet, Wilde said in the
late 19th century, because for many European intellectuals America
equaled vulgarity and low culture.
Was that the America the Icelanders finally discovered and did
not keep quiet about? It could be said that the Icelandic discovery
of America truly began in 1941, with the arrival of U.S. troops on
the island and the signing of a U.S.-Icelandic defense treaty, in the
midst of the Second World War. Suddenly, U.S. dollars transformed
the flailing economy and the population was introduced to chewing
gum and Coca-Cola.
“you cAn’t SAy no to A SoldiEr”
Meanwhile in America, Iceland was also discovered. In 1942, 20th
Century Fox published the musical film Iceland, with the great
Norwegian skater Sonja Henie and other fairly famous actors of
the time swaying to the music of Sammy Kaye’s band. The plot was
simple: U.S. marines are posted in Iceland and charm the local girls,
much to the chagrin of the backward farm boys on this rugged
island. But as the line went in one of the movie’s songs, “You can’t
say no to a soldier.”
Unsurprisingly, the Icelanders were enraged. Diplomatic protests
were made about the portrayal of easy girls and simple boys. The
Around the year 1000, Leifur ‘the Lucky’ discov-
ered America. Some thousand years later, Homer
Simpson discovered Iceland. In between, U.S.
forces were stationed in the country. The cultural
influence continues but the decision-makers in
Washington seem to have lost interest in Iceland.
Historian Guðni Th. Jóhannesson examines the
history of U.S.-Iceland relations in recent times.
PHOTOS By PáLL STeFáNSSoN