It's heating up...

The economic and political crisis here in Iceland continues to deepen. Numerous world renowned economists are now coming to the fore, reporting in the media that they advised the government, politicians and financial authorities in 2007 and early 2008 (via repeated warnings and detailed reports) that the Icelandic financial system was utterly unsustainable and that it was not a case of if, but when, the economy was going to crash. The politicians and bankers completely dismissed these warnings, with the corrupt Government, Financial Authority and Central Bank continuing to turn a blind eye whilst the bankers continued on their ruthless and destructive path toward financially ruining this nation.

The incompetence of Iceland’s governing bodies is quite astonishing really. For example, the Minister of Finance has no financial/economic qualifications – he is a Veterinarian! Unbelievable isn’t it. And it’s these incompetent people in power who are so incredibly arrogant that they dismissed repeated warnings that there would be an impending economic disaster - warnings made by numerous world renowned economic experts. Yes, just unbelievable. And now, with Iceland in the midst of the economic meltdown (with unemployment skyrocketing, loans steadily increasing, inflation escalating, and house prices depreciating significantly) the response from the government swings from silence to "it wasn’t me!"

The government and other financial authorities have clearly been negligent in ignoring these warnings, negligent in their failure to take appropriate action to divert this crisis, and negligent in cleaning up the economic disaster. Four months after the initial collapse of the banking system and economy, still no-one has taken any responsibility for the mess. No-one has been held accountable. No-one has apologized for their incompetence or their absolute failure to do their job properly.

Whilst in other countries, where politicians and people in positions of power are held accountable for the slightest misdemeanors (such as having to make a public apology for a speeding offence), apparently here in Iceland, those rules do not apply. The politicians and financial authorities wipe their ass with the nation’s money and trust, and still they continue smugly in their positions, denying any wrong-doing, continuing to abuse this nation. I am appalled and disgusted.

Due to the government’s lack of action and their lack of acknowledgment of any wrong doing, protests are becoming louder and bolder. I think the people have been extremely patient and tolerant to date. But they can only take so much. As I write this blog post now, protestors are outside the Parliament, banging on the windows and doors and making noise, so as to be heard. Although no-one appears to be listening. The police are in their riot gear and using pepper spray to control the angry crowd. (NB: The Parliament resumed today, after being on holidays for Christmas break. It leaves me bewildered however that the politicians have been on holidays when (1) they had a four month holiday over the summer, and (2) the nation is in the midst of the biggest financial crisis in history). Unbelievable.


The nation is demanding accountability, action and change – and rightfully so. If the people in power are not held responsible, then nothing will change here, and the rest of the world will not be able to restore their faith and confidence in Iceland as a reputable nation.