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So, PM [notforlong] Geir Haarde announced just after 1 pm that the government coalition has been terminated. He’s meeting with the President at 4 pm today to ask for the formal discharge of the government.
Apparently the Social Democratic Alliance led by Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir [who has just returned from Sweden where she underwent treatment for a brain tumor] demanded that the SDA take over leadership of the government from the Independence Party. She proposed that Jóhanna Siguðardóttir, currently minister for social affairs and social security and the most popular minister in the cabinet, take over as PM. The SDA, of course, has also been adamant that some serious housecleaning needs to be done at the Central Bank, and my suspicion is that, among other things, they wanted to take over the reins in order to do just that. For some reason, the IP has been completely incapable of moving the troll that is Davíd Oddsson out of the bank. [Writer Guðmundur Andri Thorsson addressing the IP in Fréttablaðið today: Davíð Oddsson is not a mountain. He is not a star in the sky that cannot be removed. He is not the sun - he is not God. He is just a man who cannot cope with the work he has been assigned and is now standing in the way of the resurrection of Iceland. Word!]
Anyway, it looks as though we will have a national government with the involvement of all the political parties, of which there are five, until the elections this spring, and Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is pegged to be PM, which is fantastic news [at least until proven otherwise] [oops, sorry, my cynicism is showing].
What wild and crazy times we live in!
* by ALDA on JANUARY 26, 2009
Reykjavík burning
Last night around midnight there was a highly discernible smell of burning in our apartment, coming through the open windows. And if we listened very closely, we could hear the banging of a drum and the sounds of shouting in the distance.
It was a protest outside the Central Bank, about 3 km away. A group of people had lit a fire and, with a rhythm that has become the heartbeat of the nation, were demanding the resignation of the governors and board of the Bank.
Recent events - the calling of spring elections, the resignation of the minister of commerce and dismissal of the board of the FSA - has been like fuel on the fire of the protests. In a good way. A very good way. The people feel that they are being listened to at last and are demanding not just cosmetic change but REAL change, radical change, a complete restructuring of this society and the systems that have prevailed.
Meanwhile, we are all waiting with bated breath to see what this day will deliver. At this very moment the two coalition parties are holding meetings - separately - and speculation is rife. Some say the plug has already been pulled on the coalition, that the Social Democrats will take over leadership in the government, that cleansing in the Central Bank is already a done deal, and on and on … but nothing has been confirmed. However, both the PM and the leader of the coalition have said that the big announcement concerning the future of the Icelandic government will be made today.
Stay tuned.
THE WIND HAS PICKED UP
And it feels cold. Bare and spindly trees are swaying with the winds [of change]. Temps are reasonable, 3°C [37F]. The sun came up at 10:25, will set at 4:56.
[Incidentally, I discovered through coincidence this morning that the P.O. box provided in the ’contact’ section of this website has been defunct ever since the day I rented it, back in November. The Icelandic postal service failed to notify the mail sorting department of the change, so evidently all mail I’ve had sent to that address has been returned to sender. Through a great stroke of fortune, one of the senders called me this morning to notify me of the return. - So did the Icelandic postal service - Íslandspóstur - offer to do something for me by way of compensation? Of course not! The woman on the phone was stunned that I should broach the idea of them refunding me the money I have been paying thus far for a the P.O. box that, as far as they were concerned, was not even assigned to me. Her remark? “It’s only ’x amount’ that you’ve been paying since November.” !!!! argh !!!!
Bottom line: if you have attempted to send me anything [Christmas presents? cheques? hate mail? doggie-doo?] and it’s been returned with the message ‘unknown’, you’ll know why. For choosing such a completely inept service provider, my sincere apologies. Just don’t expect me to resign.]
* by ALDA on JANUARY 26, 2009
Power to the people!!
The Minister of Commerce and Banking announced his resignation this morning. He moreover announced that he had dismissed the director and board of the Financial Supervisory Authority.
wOOOOOOt!!!
Seriously, I feel like doing a frenzied African war dance in my living room. In fact …
[...]
wOOOOOOt!!!
OK, now that that’s out of the way it’s time to get cynical [because, you know, despite my empathy with people with cancer and suchlike I can get cynical with the best of you ... er ... them]…
The minister would have us believe that this is a “decision of conscience”, thereby exposing his own simple-mindedness as I don’t think any thinking person will believe that. If this was so, why didn’t he resign weeks ago? On the contrary it is evident that this is merely a well-constructed ploy [and not even that well constructed, really] to enhance his image now that elections have been called. With any luck [on his part] he will only have to be out of a job for about four or five months and will then be re-elected; had he not resigned, however, the chances of that would have been slim. He is a minister for the Social Democratic Alliance, which has plummeted in popularity over the last week or so, and I suspect he feels this is his - and their - only chance at re-election.
Still, he’s the first one to publicly shoulder responsibility for the economic implosion, despite not even having been in government when the whole system was engineered, so we can give him -1 point on the Bananarepublic-o-meter for that. And -2 points for kicking the fricking amateurs at the FSA out on their butts before he left. No, make that -3 points. Huzzah!!
Meanwhile, the Central Bank board operates under the auspices of the Prime Minister who has done nothing but declare his unfailing devotion to Davíd Oddsson and his cronies at the bank. We shall see if the Independence Party pulls a similar stunt as the SDA to raise its popularity, although with the unnatural power that Doddsson appears to wield over the PM and his people I don’t expect a great deal from that camp.
MEANWHILE, I PROMISED A REPORT
On yesterday’s demonstration, which was incredible. To be perfectly honest, I half-expected that with the government’s concession to the public, i.e. calling elections this spring, protester numbers would drop off and people would slink back into complacency. Not so. Yesterday’s demonstration was the most well-attended to date, with over 5,000 people participating. The energy was incredible - vastly different from the strong undercurrent of of anger, hopelessness and despair that has prevailed of late. It’s like our latest victory [the PM’s intention to call elections] has unleashed tremendous energy and elation and yesterday’s demonstration was almost like a celebration. It was fantastic to be there, at the very center of change and at such a momentous time in the history of our nation.
Here is part of an excellent speech by writer Guðmundur Andri Thorsson [unfortunately slightly truncated] which will give you small idea of the atmosphere and also protester numbers:
When the demonstration ended, the organizers announced from the podium that a choir would sing in front of the parliament building. This has never happened before. Happily we were standing nearby and so we got to hear them perform two of our most beautiful national songs: Land míns föður, landið mitt [The land of my father, my land] and Hver á sér fegra föðurland [Who has a more beautiful fatherland?]. It was very moving, and really lifted the mood. I managed to record a little bit of the former song, here:
As soon as they had finished, people started once more banging drums, pots, pans and whatever they had, and chanting Vanhæf ríkisstjórn! [Incompetent government!]. It’s like a tribal chant that has been ongoing for the past week, and it’s fantastic.
This is history in the making, people. Momentous and incredible.
IT’S A CALM AND MILD SUNDAY
I suppose this is what is called “light air” according to the Beaufort wind scale [if you’ve been using the forums, you may have noticed the different ranks given to people according to number of posts - you start off calm and work your way up to a hurricane...] - and it sure looks nice out there. Gentle sunshine this morning but it is currently overcast in the capital, with temps at 2°C [36F]. Sunrise was at 10:28 am and sunset due for 4:53 pm. This afternoon at 3 pm there is yet another demonstration, this time on Lækjartorg square, to protest vandalism and violence against the police.
* by ALDA on JANUARY 25, 2009
A crazy, exhausting week
MONDAY - things are relatively calm.
TUESDAY - major protests begin. People gather in front of the parliament buildings at 1.30 pm and bang pots and pans and drums and generally make as much noise as possible in order to disrupt parliament and get MPs to listen to the people. Rather than dissipating after an hour or two, protester numbers increase as the day wears on. There are clashes with police and people are incensed, particularly as parliament’s agenda has nothing to do with the economic situation but rather includes such relative trivia as selling liquor in supermarkets and what to do about smoking areas in restaurants. By evening there are around 3,000 people in front of the building. Protesters light a fire on the street in front and throw anything they can find to burn onto it. The riot police is out. Some protesters go out of their way to provoke a reaction from the cops, throwing eggs at them, banging wooden spoons on their helmets, spitting, etc. The building, too, is pelted with food and windows are broken.
WEDNESDAY - protesters have stayed the entire night and numbers increase as the day wears on. The parliamentary session that was to begin at 10.30 is cancelled and the PM calls together the leaders of all the political parties. Later that day he announces he has no intention of calling an early election. The same scene as the previous day, only things are intensifying. The police is getting tired and protesters are getting more aggressive. In the afternoon protesters surround the PMs car at his office and pelt it with eggs. The Social Democrats call a meeting in the evening in which they pass a resolution to pull the plug on the government coalition [their leader is away, having an operation abroad]. By evening there are 2-3 fires burning on Austurvöllur square in front of the parliament building. At around midnight clashes with police grow very harsh - protesters throw rocks and heavy curbstones and two police officers are injured. A group of protesters appalled at the violence against the police form a line between the violent protesters and police, shielding police officers. Police use tear gas to disperse the crowd at around 1.30 pm.
THURSDAY - a blog publishes names, photos and addresses of various police officers and their families and urges people to go to their homes and pelt them with eggs etc.; also to post photographs of their wives and children on the web. There is a rising wave of anger at those who are engaging in violent protests, particularly against the police. Hundreds of Icelanders join the “orange movement” to show they support peaceful protests and reject violence. Protests continue outside the parliament buildings despite cold temps and gale-force winds. People bring roses and tulips to give to the police; someone brings hot chocolate and distributes equally to protesters and police officers [the officers are reportedly overwhelmed by this show of support and kindness]. There is a particularly moving interview on Kastljós with the wife of a police officer; she is angry and wants the government to stop using the police as a shield against the protesters, while refusing to talk to the people. A press release is sent out by a number of protest groups urging people to cease protesting on Friday and Saturday nights, as there are fears that drunken revelers will join in with devastating results.
FRIDAY - A meeting of the Independence Party is called at Valhöll, the IP’s headquarters. Demonstrators gather outside. A press conference is called for 12.30 where Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde declares the IP’s wish to hold elections on May 9. He also announces that he has a malignant tumor of the esophagus and that he will not be seeking re-election as head of the IP at the party’s next conference, which was to have been held at the end of this month, but which has now been postponed until March.
My initial understanding was that he was calling elections for May 9th, but as it turns out the date has not yet been fixed. However, elections will be held this spring. That’s definite. And it’s a huge relief, although the greatest worry is that there won’t be any renewal within the political parties and that all we will have is the same old people, whom nobody trusts any more. I don’t see anybody else organizing themselves to stand for election, but perhaps that will change now that this is on the table. For that reason alone I am relieved that the elections are not being held within the next two weeks, or whatever. Perhaps that will give people a chance to come forth.
As for the PM’s illness, I absolutely do not share the view that it was convenient, affording him a good excuse to step down. What’s convenient about having a life-threatening illness? Nor did I see him presenting himself as some kind of victim - on the contrary. I think he made the announcement in a very matter-of-fact manner. I do agree that his illness and the future of this country are two separate matters. He is ill and on a human level I feel for him and his family; on the other hand I think he has serious shortcomings as a leader and I don’t want him leading this country any more. I don’t know how much of an impact his illness had on his decision to agree to the elections and to me, it is irrelevant. We the people are getting at least one of our demands fulfilled and that’s fantastic.
It doesn’t mean we can just pack it in and go back to our beauty sleep, though - there will be protests tomorrow as there have been every Saturday, and I plan to attend. There is still major housecleaning that needs to be done, particularly at the Central Bank, and we still need to keep the pressure on to demand transparency and justice … did you know that a man has been appointed to conduct the massive and incredibly important investigation into the bank collapse, what happened in the days prior, etc. [so much corrupt stuff] and he was chosen because they couldn’t find anyone else that wasn’t related to someone within the banks? [He is the sheriff of fricking Akranes!] And that HE WILL NOT BE REVEALING ANY OF HIS FINDINGS until the full report is published? - People have been calling for outside investigators, for forensic accountants from abroad to come in and conduct the investigation, people who are objective and not enmeshed in the malignant spider’s web that Icelandic society is turning out to be - but no. The government has found its man. And I’m pretty damn scared that his white book will end up being nothing more than a whiteWASHING book.
IT IS STILL WINDY
Winds of change, perhaps. Hoping - and hoping they are benign. It’s mild, 4°C [39F], sunrise was at 10:34 am and sunset at 4:46 pm.
* by ALDA on JANUARY 24, 2009
As the canyon widens between the government and the people
Have just spent the evening in the company of three investigative journalists from Norway, having dinner in a restaurant next to the parliament buildings.
The protests have continued today and this evening. Demonstrators surrounded the car of the Prime Minister and pelted it with eggs and skyr. They were in front of the parliament buildings today and this evening, save for a short break when they all trekked up to the National Theatre where the Social Democratic Party was holding a meeting. By the time we finished dinner, around 11 pm, they were back at the parliament building and had lit a fire. Around the back demonstrators were trying to force their way into the building and the riot police had formed a wall and were forcing them back.
PM Geir H. Haarde announced today that he had no intention of calling an early election. [What are they waiting for? Greece-style rioting? Torched and overturned cars? Burning buildings?] Meanwhile, the word is that the Social Democrats are looking for a good enough reason to pull the plug on the coalition and are hoping that the Independence Party will refuse to agree to enter into talks with the EU, which would give them the reason they need. The IP is holding its party congress this coming weekend where this will be the main issue on the agenda. So we shall see.
I’ve got lots more to say, a handful of salicious details I heard this evening … but alas, it is late and it’s time to turn in for the night. More later!
* by ALDA on JANUARY 22, 2009
Here comes the revolution
Have just returned from an incendiary citizen’s meeting in Háskólabíó.
It’s hard to convey to people the boiling cauldron of energy and ideas that is Icelandic society at this present time. I will go so far as to say that the force of what is happening now is like the movement that took place in the lead-up to Iceland’s declaration of independence - at these citizen’s meetings, demonstrations, in the media [some aspects of the media, at least], on blogs, between people. It is completely rocking the foundations of this society. [Mind you, those foundations are close to crumbling - which is perhaps why everything is rattling and shaking.]
People - young and old, from all walks of life - are coming out and expressing ideas that are radical and revolutionary and powerful. Like the idea that I’ve heard several times over the past few days - that we need a completely new constitution. In building this “New Iceland” that everybody is talking about, we need to start over. The details are intricate and too complex and numerous to do justice to in this space - but those details, the very fabric of a new society - are what people here are talking about these days. I’d say our biggest challenge is how to harness all this energy and all these ideas.
But back to the citizen’s meeting. There were four keynote speakers, each very different, each very good.
The first, Raffaella Tencon, an economist with Straumur Investment Bank in London [an Icelandic bank], gave an excellent and concise talk on where Icelandic society is at this moment in time - what our situation is, what the forecast is for the coming months, and what our options are, particularly in terms of currency [keep the krona / join the EU and adopt the euro / unilaterally adopt another currency]. Very clear and to the point.
The second, Robert Wade, an economics professor with London School of Economics, also gave an excellent talk. In July of last year, he wrote an article in the Financial Times in which he expressed his view that Iceland was heading for a fall - he had studied the economic meltdown in Asia in-depth and saw a very similar pattern here. The same day as the article was published, he was at a conference with a member of the International Monetary Fund, who praised him for speaking out about this matter - finally, someone had. In Iceland, meanwhile, he was denounced for his writings. Our current Prime Minister dismissed his article with the words that it was like a readers’ letter in DV [Iceland’s only tabloid]
. Wade touched on many things in his speech, but the one that evoked the greatest response was when he said that it was absolutely necessary, if Iceland wanted to re-establish any sort of credibility on a global scale, for us to “invite” our Central Bank director to look for another job. At this the crowd went wild and gave him a standing ovation.
The third speaker was an Icelander, an activist and documentary filmmaker, who delivered a rousing speech, in which - among other things - he traced the origins of democracy. He declared that the agreement between himself and those who are entrusted with his safety and welfare, and that of his family [i.e. the government] was broken. They had not held up their share of the bargain, and so the agreement was null and void.
The last speech, by a woman named Sigurbjörg Sigurgeirsdóttir, a public administrator, was definitely the most chilling. She began by saying that, earlier today, one of the cabinet ministers in the present government had said to her [aka issued a veiled threat] over the phone, when he found out she would be speaking: “be careful of what you say tonight”. [At this there were loud shouts from the crowd, demanding to know who it was.] She went on to expose an incident in which she had been involved, that so clearly demonstrated the corruption taking place behind the scenes in this country that it was staggering. In this case within the health care sector - surely the most vulnerable of all sectors in a depression.
Hearing such stories [which I absolutely believe to be true - mindful of the creepy exchange I had with an official from the Central Bank last month, I shudder to think of the pressure put on people who have something at stake] evokes such anger and such a feeling of utter powerlessness that it makes me want to scream and weep at the same time. The establishment in this country who have so comfortably placed themselves in seats of power, who continue to engage in nepotism and croneyism and what the speaker called “hands-off privatization” [i.e. when social services are privatized by a minister who makes sure his fingerprints are nowhere on the deal] and who REFUSE to step down or call elections or do anything to shoulder any sort of responsibility … who just don’t respond to the calls of the public for fairness and justice … what is to be done? What can be done with them? - I don’t condone violence in any shape or form, but I’m starting to think that nothing less than large-scale civil unrest will do in order to oust them from their lairs.
That last speaker also said that she knew of many people, professionals, academics, specialists in this country, who are appealing to their colleagues abroad to SPEAK OUT about Iceland, about what is happening here, because they, themselves, don’t have the courage to do so. Because they are afraid, for themselves and for their families.
Well I, for one, will not be intimidated. Let the scum rise to the surface, and let it all be revealed.
WEATHER
I’m so fired up right now that something so commonplace as the weather seems like an indulgence. Let’s just say that it was a perfect winter’s day. Utterly and totally beautiful. I started the day with a long walk at dawn [around 10 am], out by the lighthouse, with the full moon hovering overhead and a row of rose and gold in the eastern sky. So beautiful. Currently -4 [25F] but no wind. Sunrise was at 11.01, sunset at 4.12 pm.
* by ALDA on JANUARY 21, 2009
Is Iceland turning into a dictatorship?
There was a staggering headline on the front page of Fréttablaðið this morning:
Special Unit Strengthened, Economic Crimes Department Not
Beneath the headline was an article outlining just how money has been poured into strengthening the police’s Viking Squad in the past couple of years, while the Economic Crimes Department has been downsized. The numbers back this up: operating costs for the former are up by 45 percent, for the latter they are down by nine percent.
Just to put this into topical perspective: the Viking Squad is the force that is - among other things - dispatched to suppress protests, demonstrations and public unrest, while the Economic Crimes Department is the division responsible for investigating the white-collar crimes of people who have driven this country’s economy into the ground, leaving us - the regular Jóns and Gunnas - to pay their debts for the next century or so.
Pardon me for asking, but isn’t there something VERY WRONG here?
Meanwhile, no more has been heard about that pugnacious Central Bank economist* and his belligerent brother who walked around threatening protesters a few days ago. Some of us are thinking he probably reported to work after the holidays and got called into the boss’s office … only to receive a hearty slap on the back and congratulations on his conduct. After all, we have to remember who is in charge.
I’M TEMPTED TO GET ME ONE OF THOSE SIGNS
That reads “Helvítis fokking fokk” - the protest sign of the year 2008 in the view of most punters. [In case you don’t know, it basically just means “Goddamn F*cking f*ck” and quite neatly sums up the sense of impotence felt by much of the Nicelandic population these days.] Because, you know, what else is there to say? Yes, I mean, we have weather and everything, but what does it matter when everything is just helvítis fokking fokk? It’s overcast if you must know, and wet, and kind of blustery, and mild. Temps 8°C [46F], sunrise was at 11:10 am and sunset at 3:58 pm.
* … which was brought up in the comments of the post I linked to. The link to the video, once again, is here. The pugnacious pair come in at around 1.40 minutes.
* by ALDA on JANUARY 7, 2009
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