Letter from Iceland #49
The "banana republic gets yet another new government" edition
Hey
I wish I could welcome you with a cheery Icelandic greeting today, but alas, I’m in no mood.
Nothing personal. Just another Icelandic political sh*tshow.
More specifically: WE HAVE A NEW PRIME MINISTER. And he is none other than
… wait for it
Bjarni Benediktsson!
That’s right. He’s the dude who “resigned” last year from his post as Minister of Finance when his shady shifting of funds from the sale of Íslandsbanki bank into the pockets of his cronies (and father) were exposed.
Which, incidentally, was just the latest in a long string of misdemeanours that BB is guilty of in his political career.
At the time we were all flabbergasted that he would “take responsibility” and step down, because he had never, ever, ever done that before, and besides that’s not the way things are done in Icelandic politics—most especially not if you belong to Iceland’s version of the mafia, aka the Independence Party.
True to form, his “resignation” turned out to consist of trading the Ministry of Finance for the other tasty morsel in the department of ministries, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
And now, the most unpopular politician in Iceland, the one who 75% of the population distrust, has once again stepped into the role of prime minister. Yes, once again. He’s already been there once, but was forced to resign due to a corruption scandal involving his and his father’s involvement with a convicted pedophile.
Seriously. You cannot make this shit up.
Wait … dafuq happened this week?
Oh, right. Maybe I should back up a little.
So last week I wrote that our then-prime minister (aweekisalongtime etc), Katrín Jakobsdóttir (Left Greens), was strongly considering running for president.1
The rumour became magnified, and last Friday she made a formal announcement confirming it as true and announcing her resignation as prime minister.
In so doing, she effectively blew up the government. Meaning that, this past weekend and until today, Iceland was without leadership. But … ok, that’s beside the point.
So the prime minister wants to be president
Let’s look at that for a minute.
I can think of only two other countries in recent history in which the prime minister decides to do a sidestep and become president, aka head of state. Those two countries are Russia and Turkey. With Messrs Putin and Erdogan, respectively.
Nice.
But of course KJ is not like them, KJ, I presume, wants to serve her country (because that’s what all the presidential candidates say they want).
The thing is though, the prez is a figurehead. The prez holds no real power. In terms of serving the country and its people, the office of prime minister holds far more firepower.
That said, while the president mostly does things like go on official visits and cut ribbons, s/he does have some power, like being able to veto laws and give certain individuals the authority to form a government.
Consider: if KJ is successful in her presidential run, she’ll be the head of a government of which she, herself, was previously a part.
Tell me there’s no conflict of interest there.
This aside, she’ll also have a major advantage over other candidates currently in the presidential race, not least because she will be receiving a full salary paid for by Icelandic serfs taxpayers (as per her contract as pm) while she is campaigning to become the head of those same se taxpayers.
Yup. Mind fairly blown.
But let’s get real about motives
Here’s what I think.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir is wildly unpopular among those who previously supported her. Why? Because of her meek deference and kowtowing to her Independence Party coalition partners, who basically have gotten away with whatever the hell they wanted over the last seven years.
The entire government, in fact, has been hemorrhaging support. So KJ basically found a way to jump ship before it sinks.2
Also, there is this. Last year, the then-minister of Food and Agriculture, Svandís Svavarsdóttir (Left-Greens), threw a wrench into the LG’s cozy enabling of the IP’s shenanigans when she very unexpectedly placed a ban on whaling. This was arguably the only good (and ballsy) thing the Left Greens have done in this current coalition.
The IP went ballistic. A complaint was filed, and the ban was found to have been in violation of law (long story). Subsequently a motion of no-confidence was drawn up in an effort to oust Svandís Svavarsdóttir from office. However, on the day a vote was to set to take place, it was announced that Svandís Svavarsdóttir had cancer and would be going on sick leave. The motion was therefore put on hold.
Yesterday SS returned to work and the no-confidence motion was already set to be re-launched. But lo! What with horse trading in full swing in the wake of KJ’s abandoning ship, the LGs and IPs apparently struck a deal that, if the LGs let the IP have the prime minister’s office, the IP would protect SS from the no-confidence motion.
And in true Icelandic fashion, they did a little switcharoo of ministries, so that SS is no longer in the Food and Agriculture ministry, but has moved to the Ministry of Infrastructure (i.e. domestic affairs).
So the no-confidence motion is history.
And whaling has resumed.
And Iceland’s most corrupt politician is once again at the helm of this godforsaken country. 🍌🍌🍌
Til hamingju Ísland.
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ICYM, Iceland has a prime minister and a president—the latter being more of a figurehead-type position.
I will refrain from using a simile involving a certain rodent
I was surprised to learn that the PM is appointed by the President and not elected! (At least, if I’m understanding Google correctly.) Will he remain PM indefinitely or does the public have the ability to somehow vote him out? It seems strange that a PM affiliated with one party could be replaced by a member of a completely different party. I’m clearly ill-informed on the basics of the Icelandic government! It sounds like a maddening situation.
It might be worth giving it a try (even if I have to use the dictionary for every other word)- it will be a great read when I'm a bit more advanced. It will be great motivation for later...and I love indifferently hardback and paperback books. Don't hesitate to suggest the title please :)