When the news reached me on Tuesday morning that the most corrupt politician in Iceland had resigned, I thought my hearing was seriously impaired.
An Icelandic politician resigning?! And not just any politician but Bjarni Benediktsson, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, erstwhile Prime Minister, head of the Independence Party, the party whose members routinely laugh at anyone who calls them out on their blatant corruption and nepotism, shrug their shoulders, and just keep doing it because the rules don’t apply to them? The party that always wins the elections even though they don’t win the elections, because no matter who is in the driver’s seat, they always get their way?
Once I had fished my jaw up from the floor, my first thought was It’s a miracle!! and my next thought was WAIT.
BB is not someone who simply resigns because it’s the right thing to do. Not a fecking hope in hell.
I’ll backtrack for a moment, for a bit of context.
When the Icelandic economy melted down in 2008, Iceland’s three commercial banks imploded and were subsequently nationalized. One of those three was Íslandsbanki and, until recently, the Icelandic state still owned a substantial share in the bank.
Fast-forward to a couple of years ago when the government decided it would sell its shares in Íslandsbanki. A public tender was held, in which any member of the public was invited to buy for shares in Íslandsbanki, as long as they bid a certain (relatively low) amount. So far, so good.
Shortly afterwards, another tender was held, only this one was reserved for “professional investors”, and before we could say soldintheshadowofnight the tender was over and done with and the government’s share in Íslandsbanki (aka a public asset) had been sold off.
Except that, what was supposed to be fully transparent turned out to be super murky, and wailing sirens went off when Icelandic State Financial Investments (per their website: “a state body with an independent Board of Directors which reports to the Minister of Finance” and whose chairman of the board is a personal friend of BB, welcome to Iceland) flatly refused to publish a list of the said “professional investors” that had bought the government’s share in the bank.
A bunch of legal wrangling ensued, after which the list was finally made public. As most people had surmised, it had the fingerprints of the Independence Party all over it, a party whose raison d’être seems to be to facilitate the shifting of public assets into the hands of their cronies and relatives.
The list and related intel brought to light some interesting information. First, that the shares had been sold below the market price, i.e. at a discount. (Keep in mind that this is a public asset being sold here.) Second, that the hand-picked “professional investors” had been contacted via telephone after the close of markets on the day. Third, that the sales commission paid to brokers was inordinately high. Fourth, that the “professionals” on the list included:
Bjarni Benediktsson’s father
Numerous individuals from the banking sector who were instrumental in causing the meltdown of the economy in 2008, and had been condemned in the so-called Black Report
A number of Icelandic quota barons (who are inextricably tied to the Independence Party through their funding of their election campaigns and get fishing quotas instead) including one whose exploitation of the fishing sector in Namibia is heinous beyond words)
Non-professional investors (n.b. “professional” delineates that a certain amount of money had to be spent, yet these investors did not spend nearly the amount of money to be considered “professional”).
A handful of brokers involved in the sale, who should have been disqualified because they were insiders
The brokers’ relatives
These are just a few of the sordid highlights regarding this catastrophe of a sale, but I trust you get the picture. Corruption at its absolute worst, and sadly too, too common in the Banana Republic of Iceland (and almost without exception involving the Independence Party).
Back to the miraculous resignation …
Over the course of the last year or so, while this sale is has been under investigation by various entities, with the government opposition spending endless hours in the pulpit trying to get some clarity, with public protests and demonstrations and petitions and endless column inches of rants in the media, with the head of the bank resigning and an exodus of customers and businesses from Íslandsbanki … in short, while this whole furore has been going on, the honourable BB has never even suggested that he sees cause to step down from his hallowed pedestal as Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs.
Until yesterday when the Parliamentary Ombudsman published a report stating that BB was unqualified to approve the sale of Íslandsbanki given that his father was one of the buyers—the only concrete thing in that cesspool of malfeasance that could actually be pinned on him.
Incidentally, this is the third, I believe, report that has been published condemning the sale.
Eleven minutes after the report was released, BB called a press conference to announce that he was stepping down.
🎉
Not so fast. Let’s be clear: Icelandic politicians do not step down. No matter how scandalous their conduct. In the nearly 80-year history of the Republic of Iceland it has only happened a handful of times. So, for that very thing to happen 11 minutes after the Ombudsman’s report is released, and involving this particular politician, begs the question: what the hell is he up to?
It could be a couple of things. One, the government has lost a ton of support and this move is an attempt to win back trust (which, alas, will likely work because people are idiots). Another is that BB wants to hightail it out of the Ministry of Finance asap because inflation is rampant and we have an imminent a crisis coming up next year interest rates on mortgages come up for renegotiation, which will submerge many households in debt. The Ministry of Finance will have to deal with that whole mess, which will undoubtedly render its leader wildly unpopular.
Also: the talk about town is that this “resignation” is merely theatrics since BB won’t really go anywhere, except into another cushy position in the cabinet. The speculation is that he and Minister of Foreign Affairs Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir will simply change seats, giving BB the “other” choice ministry in the government.
So “resigning” without any repercussions or responsibility for his actions.
The next few days will reveal all, but one thing is pretty damn certain: the Independence Party will retain its position of power in Icelandic society, and BB will keep his teflon suit.
UPDATE: The talk about town was correct: on Saturday, Oct. 14, it was announced that Bjarni Benediktsson will take over as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Such a ridiculous, nonsensical farce.
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