Iceland Collapses!

[3113]

Well, the government did. Yikes!

Iceland's coalition government collapsed Monday, leaving the island nation in political turmoil amid a financial crisis that has pummeled its economy and required an international bailout to keep the country afloat. Prime Minister Geir Haarde said he was unwilling to meet demands from his coalition partners in the Social Democratic Alliance Party, which insisted upon the post of prime minister in order to keep the coalition intact.

Haarde, who has been prime minister since 2006, said he would officially inform the country's president later Monday that the government had collapsed. Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Gisladottir, who heads the Social Democrats, is expected to start talks immediately with opposition parties in an attempt to form a new government. That government would sit until new elections are held, likely in May....Iceland has been mired in crisis since the collapse of the country's banks under the weight of debts amassed during years of rapid expansion. Inflation and unemployment have soared, and the krona currency has plummeted.

Haarde's government has nationalized banks and negotiated about $10 billion in loans from the IMF and individual countries. In addition, Iceland faces a bill likely to run to billions of dollars to repay thousands of Europeans who held accounts with subsidiaries of collapsed Icelandic banks. The country's commerce minister, Bjorgvin Sigurdsson, quit on Sunday citing the pressures of the economic collapse. Sigurdsson, a member of Gisladottir's party, said Icelanders had lost trust in their political leadership.

Thousands have joined noisy daily protests in the last week over soaring unemployment and rising prices.

Full story here. I love this part: "Sigurdsson...said Icelanders had lost trust in their political leadership." Ya think?

What's going to happen to Bjork?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/28/38882475_70e64f5c57_o.jpg

 

[TheeGoatPig]

What's going to happen to Bjork?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/28/38882475_70e64f5c57_o.jpg

Obviously, she will have to start making her own dresses out of anything she can find

 

[oggbashan]

What's going to happen to Bjork?

She'll lay another golden egg. Her earnings have been propping Iceland up.

Og

 

[voluptuary_manque]

They should have stuck to physical looting and plundering. Financial Viking-ing was obviously a bad idea. I read somewhere that their indebtedness exceeds financial worth of the entire country.

 

[jomar]

The Prime Minister took his ball and went home? How the hell can you do that?

 

[3113]

The Prime Minister took his ball and went home? How the hell can you do that?

I'm a little confused about how their government works. They've a President and a Prime Minister? Am I reading that right?

 

[jomar]

I'm a little confused about how their government works. They've a President and a Prime Minister? Am I reading that right?

Looks like it (not taking time to google it). Maybe the figurehead President is a more ceremonial position.

 

[rgraham666]

I'm a little confused about how their government works. They've a President and a Prime Minister? Am I reading that right?

When in doubt ask Wikipedia.

 

[3113]

Looks like it (not taking time to google it). Maybe the figurehead President is a more ceremonial position.

Close!

When in doubt ask Wikipedia.

And here it is:

Iceland is a representative democracy and a parliamentary republic....It currently has 63 members, elected for a four year term. The president of Iceland is a largely ceremonial head of state and serves as a diplomat but can block a law voted by the parliament and put it to a national referendum. The current president is Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. The head of government is the prime minister, who, together with the cabinet, is responsible for executive government. The cabinet is appointed by the president after a general election to Althing; however, the appointment is usually negotiated by the leaders of the political parties, who decide among themselves...Only when the party leaders are unable to reach a conclusion by themselves in a reasonable time does the president exercise this power and appoint the cabinet himself or herself.

 

[oggbashan]

Former UK ruled democracies have similar arrangements except that they have a Governor General - the Queen's Representative - filling the President's role.

The Queen is the Head of State of Canada and Australia but her very limited functions are exercised by the Governor General.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second is the Head of State for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Gordon Brown is her Prime Minister. In theory she can dismiss him. In practice except in very unusual circumstances, she can't, but if he wants to resign he gives his resignation to the Queen who asks someone else to be Prime Minister.

If a Prime Minister does resign before a General Election, the Queen is expected to ask the Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition to take over as Prime Minister until the result of the election is known.

Og

 

[ishtat]

I'm a little confused about how their government works. They've a President and a Prime Minister? Am I reading that right?

France Russia and Ireland also have the same system, as do many other countries. Many presidents have no executive power.

The most interesting thing about Iceland is that they are one of the world's major banana growers.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

The most interesting thing about Iceland is that they are one of the world's major banana growers.

Get out of town!!! How does that work???

They also have one of the highest alcoholism and suicide rates in Europe, and one of the highest scores on the Happiness Index, so I guess you're either drunk and miserable there or happy and full of bananas.

They're also the oldest functioning democracy in the world, aren't they?

 

[DesertPirate]

Sounds similar to Italy where the government falls regularly

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Iceland collapses!! Oh no, what about the polar bears, they can't swim very well. Where's Al Gore and his liferaft?

I'm a little confused about how their government works. They've a President and a Prime Minister? Am I reading that right?

Countries where the head of the executive is also head of the legislature (Prime Minister/Chancellor) need an independent head of state (President, sovereign or governor-general) to provide a constitutional safeguard. France is an exception where the President is head of state and of the executive and controls the legislature.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Get out of town!!! How does that work???

They also have one of the highest alcoholism and suicide rates in Europe, and one of the highest scores on the Happiness Index, so I guess you're either drunk and miserable there or happy and full of bananas.

They're also the oldest functioning democracy in the world, aren't they?

Since Iceland is basically one giant volcano field, they can run the entire country on geothermal power. That gives them unlimited greenhouse agriculture. Wanna grow bananas? Run more geyser water into the pipes.

 

[R. Richard]

Get out of town!!! How does that work???

They also have one of the highest alcoholism and suicide rates in Europe, and one of the highest scores on the Happiness Index, so I guess you're either drunk and miserable there or happy and full of bananas.

They're also the oldest functioning democracy in the world, aren't they?

The USAF had a presence there until a couple of years back. In the summer, Iceland is supposed to be quite a nice place. In the winter, pass the damn vodka!

 

[Pure]

Scary-- Which is the NEXT Iceland

Foreign Policy mag looks at five possibilities: GB, Ukraine, Latvia, Greece....

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4648

 

[Liar]

Get out of town!!! How does that work???

They also have one of the highest alcoholism and suicide rates in Europe, and one of the highest scores on the Happiness Index, so I guess you're either drunk and miserable there or happy and full of bananas.

They're also the oldest functioning democracy in the world, aren't they?

And the highest rate of univesity degrees per capita in the world.

Guess there's not much to do there but read books, work in fishing, grow bananas, or kill yourself.

Alternatively, be Björk.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

And the highest rate of univesity degrees per capita in the world.

Guess there's not much to do there but read books, work in fishing, grow bananas, or kill yourself.

Alternatively, be Björk.

They have the most complete record of inheritance in the world, since they're all basically descended from about 1500 original settlers, and this gives them a base for genetics research that is second to none. It also means that they're all related to each other over the last 4-500 years. You may be an Icelander if . . .