Economic Disaster Area » Indefence

In Whose Name?

Dadi — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:57:53 +0000

Remember Indefence? The group which persuaded the president of Iceland not to sign the IceSave agreement last year. Which many believe has saved Icelandic taxpayers some serious amounts with the agreement of better terms a year later, while others maintain that it has delayed the reconstruction of Iceland by keeping away foreign direct investment because of percieved political uncertainty and hindered the availability of good credit eventually chasing away home grown blue chips like Ossur.

This all remains to be seen and the real effects will probably not be known for another twenty years. But the political manouverings of Indefence are interesting to say the least. Here is a non governmental organization which has sprung forth in two years as a major policy influencer. How and why? Remember Bjarni Benediktsson’s conversation with the US Embassy?

Bendiktsson said that, in an attempt to force the issue into the courts, he intends to oppose the government-sponsored Icesave bill when it comes up for a vote in Parliament. (Note: Benediktsson, along with most of his

opposition Independence Party colleagues, abstained when the previous law was passed in August. End note). He acknowledged, however, that the coalition government probably had the votes necessary to pass the measure through parliament. He also admitted that, were he to have his way and the bill fail in parliament, it could further stall Iceland’s recovery efforts. It would certainly mean no further loans from the IMF and, without that cash inflow, the government would be unable to lift its capital control restrictions and would likely have to issue Euro bonds to raise the necessary capital. He also said he was not anxious to assume leadership of the government, but preferred to remain in opposition until after the May 2010 municipal

elections to benefit candidates from his party.

So how about this from the opposition political leader? First we will throw any obstacle we can in the way of the government so that it is weakened in the eyes of the voters. Secondly we will use this to ride a wave of discontent back into the seats of power. Thirdly, it does not matter whether the nation as a whole suffers, as long as the party is back on its feet.

But how do the two most unpopular political organizations of 2009-2010 go about advancing their agenda? Supporting and influencing an organization battling vehemently against key issues for the government would seem like a good idea. Indefence anyone?

Olafur Eliasson of Indefence has scoured internet forums and blog comments to deny this. He maintains that the group’s agenda is to prevent the people of Iceland assuming massive debts which will hinder prosperity in Iceland’s future. He states that himself and Agnar Helgason had the original idea of creating the Indefence group and have fought to keep it bipartizan in nature.

It would be imprudent to accuse those two of holding political beliefs which they might not, but it is hard to look past the company they keep. Amongst the first prominent Indefence members was Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, who soon thereafter assumed the leadership of the Centre Party. He has now hired Johannes Skulason, another vocal Indefence member to be his assistant. Another, Magnus Arni Skulason has held positions on behalf of both the Independence Party and the Centre Party. Eirikur S. Svavarsson is a pronounced supporter of Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, the former IP minister who was instrumental behind the giant donations the party got from Landsbankinn and FL Group in 2006. Lawyer Helgi Ass Gretarsson has been one of the most active legal supporters of the current fishing quota system so precious to the Independence Party and the Centre Party and Sigurdur Hannesson represented the Centre Party on the committee on foreign investment last year. Least we forget the “invisible member” of Indefence, David Blondal who is the son of one of the Independence Party’s most vocal members of Althingi Petur Blondal.

Perhaps Olafur Eliasson and others were working in good faith in something they absolutely believed in. But one lesson from Indefence and the events of 2008-2011 in Iceland is that in democracies, NGO’s can influence national policy and adapt it to their goals.

The only question is, who elects them to do so and whose agenda are they pushing?

InDefence Honored By Young Independence Party Members

Dadi — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:47:37 +0000

With no hint of irony the lobbyist group InDefence which has fought vehemently against the payment of the IceSave debt to Holland and the UK, accepted an award this weekend.

The award is called the Kjartan Gunnarsson Freedom Award and it was presented by the youth association of the Independence Party at the party’s headquarters.

Kjartan Gunnarsson you may recall was the CEO of the Independence Party who simultaneously sat on the board of Landsbankinn, the bank responsible for IceSave. You might also remember how the Independence Party government of David Oddson handed Landsbankinn to its preferable owners, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson and Bjorgolfur Thor. And you might not have forgotten about the 25 million ISK donation that Landsbankinn gave the Independence Party days before it enacted new campaign financing laws.

Amongst the guests, Independence Party MP Petur Blondal, the proud father of one of InDefence’s most active members.

It hardly gets more absurd than this crowd.

So What Happened After The Big Message Was Sent To The World With The IceSave “No” Vote?

Dadi — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:14:38 +0000

Well this is what happened…. …apart from the UK and Holland not showing any signs of rushing into negotiating… ….nothing. Related posts:No Vote In IceSave Referendum An MP Answers Why She’ll Vote Yes on IceSave National Referendum: A Sad Day For Democracy in Iceland Related posts:

The Enemy Reveals Himself

Dadi — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:32:40 +0000

With a smug grin he revealed last night and today what he had wanted all along. It wasn’t a national referendum on IceSave. It was for the government he opposes to resign.

Steingrimur J. Sigfusson asked the nation how it thought an agreement could be made with a saboteur on our very own negotiating team.

Of course Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Progressive Party and founder of the InDefence pressure group would never have dreamt up a more favorable situation. Half of the nation had bought his spin and handed him the spin necessary to demand a clear path to the power tables. Preferably before the congressional report on the economic crash due out soon.

I hate to say I told you so, but I did and Icelanders were played by a snake oil salesman and too many of them bought it. He has divided the nation and now humbly offers to lead it from distress.

The enemy does not have Iceland’s interests at heart. It is all about the money (did we mention how he became a billionaire through an unholy alliance of politics and business) and the mandate to lead Iceland during these turmoilous times when the wealth and debts of the nation are distributed.

Iceland’s enemy number one has revealed himself and his name is Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson.

National Referendum: A Sad Day For Democracy in Iceland

Dadi — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:41:16 +0000

Tomorrow is the first national referendum Icelandic citizens have been allowed to participate in by the political elite since the conception of the republic in 1944. By all measures, this should be a happy day for democracy in Iceland.

But instead it is not a cause for celebration but a large milestone in the farcical power play which has taken place between the four largest political movements in Iceland since 1944.

Yes, a farce. “Isn‘t that what this whole thing really is”, asked a Dutch journalist yesterday after surveying the scene? It is a sad day.

The media has a lot to answer for

The media has a lot to answer for. Instead of allowing people like law professor Bryndis Hlodversdottir and political science professor Svanur Kristjansson to explain to the nation why this isn’t good democracy, the media has instead handed the microphones to red-faced, unbalanced Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Progressive Party whose political career has revolved around kicking up as much mess as possible around IceSave. It makes for a better TV than a balanced approach and it creates pressure on the government he opposes.

In his wake you can see the pressure group InDefence whose members include Progressive Party players and someone who was recently kicked out of the Central Bank for bypassing the currency restrictions which are supposed to be holding our economy together. And the rabble rousers from the Independence Party who are glad the spotlight isn’t on them.

Why isn’t the referendum good democracy? Well, the question is useless as there is a better offer on the table. The information to make an enligthened decision have not been easily available. And the consequences of a yes or a no are unknown. And how do you vote on whether your nation should pay its debts or not? Of course nobody wants to pay. But that is what three governments have now promised Holland and the UK that we are going to do. The rest is just details, isn’t it? And we can argue endlessly over details can’t we? Did the government or the opposition ever tell us what their goals were regarding payment terms, interest rates and such? What exactly is an agreeable agreement to Iceland?

So far, no details have been good enough for the opposition, which includes the Independence Party who would have agreed to a less favorable agreement a long time ago if only they were still in government. And to some people it seems like any deal is a bad deal because then the spotlight will turn towards other matters? Could it be that Iceland’s enemies are not abroad, in Amsterdam or London but actually in Reykjavik, Blonduos and Akureyri? So far, the problem hasn’t been about Iceland’s democratically elected government not reaching an agreement with the UK and Holland. It has been about not reaching an agreement with the opposition. The opposition, coupled with a few Left Greens who think that Iceland’s future as a self sustainable country in the vein of Cuba is viable, has stalled, filibustered, argued and kicked up a storm at every turn. Some academics have suggested that every month stalled has cost Iceland 70 billion ISK or so, a large chunk of IceSave. Are the small details really worth it or are more sinister forces at work here?

For the opposition’s part, the longer this thing drags out the more turmoil there will be in Icelandic society. And who will the voters blame? Well, of course the people in government. And then the way is clear for the opposition to resume power. And don’t think for a minute that they would not try to negotiate with the Brits and the Dutch.

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. The cheerleader of the business-vikings who raped and plundered Iceland. (Finnish president Halonen not included)

The political elite has a lot to answer for

The political elite has a lot to answer for. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, a lame duck president, paralyzed by his constant smooching with the money-men of yesterday, has suddenly turned the tables somehow to making some foreign journalists believe that he is at the forefront of a fight against capitalism. Don’t be fooled. It was just about his own legacy, and the trouble the four parties have created by constantly refusing constitutional reform which would sharpen his role and responsibilities. They never did because they don’t want to limit their own powers. It is a diabolic merry-go round.

The people have a lot to answer for

The people have a lot to answer for. We have voted for bad politicians and we have voted for a bad system. And we have been fooled into all sorts of bad positions because we are hapless joiners who too easily take sides with demagogues and snake-oil salesmen to easily. The mob has allowed the political elite to maintain its grip on society. Recently it has mindlessly signed petitions for InDefence and Thjodarhagur, honked horns with a slightly facist New Iceland and gathered at an Anthill for a Nation’s Meeting without asking who is behind all these groups and what is their purpose. And now it will flock towards a referendum where one of the options is out of the question, and in many cases not having a clue what they are voting for. Iceland not paying any debts. Count them in.

So what will happen tomorrow? A big no vote of course. And what does it mean? Some people think it is a message of some sort which will improve the negotiating position of Iceland. But really?

Three likely scenarios

a) The government keeps going and attempts to find a solution with the UK and Holland on the grounds that “people are against paying these debts”. Why would the UK and Holland see that as an argument? Those countries can wait. The IMF loans could wait as well. The government is backed into a corner and has little options but to resign.

b) The government keeps going and attempts to find a solution with the UK and Holland on which the opposition can agree to. Which is unlikely, because the opposition can wait until things are so tight that it can assume power on a wave of discontent.

c) The government resigns. The current opposition resumes negotiations and quickly finds an “acceptable deal” with minor adjustments which they will take credit for. The new opposition kicks up a storm. Then what? A new national referendum on that deal?

Bjarni Benediktsson and Sigmundur D. Gunnlaugsson. Opposition party leaders and billionaires.

It is really a whole big mess. And it does not make one proud of being an Icelander. What is currently taking place in Iceland has nothing to do with democracy. It is cold hard realism which has everything to do with power and money. Consider who is leading the opposition. Two, middle aged men who have become filthy rich through the cosy relationship between politics and business in the last few decades. They want people to think that this is about democracy, independence, justice and standing up to the man.

And the real enemy within escapes the attention meanwhile and grows stronger from the strife.

It is a sad day. The first national referendum of the republic since its beginnings and it is for the political elite, by the political elite and benefits the political elite. There could have been so many other more apt matters and issues for the nation to deliberate on, the fishing quota system, support for the war in Iraq, constitutional reform. But no, instead we get this farce.

No Vote In IceSave Referendum

Dadi — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:04:34 +0000

I for one am not going to participate in this distortion of democracy which has brought us a national referendum on IceSave.

Of course I would say no to paying for the insane way Landsbankinn went about its business. Today, Halldor J. Kristjansson, one of their CEO’s is on record saying that there were meetings in February 2008 between the banks and the government about an impending collapse, yet they continued on to open the IceSave accounts in the Netherlands two months later.

But in a discussion dominated by the frantics, Bryndis Hlodversdottir, law professor at Bifrost University has come up with the most rational input regarding the referendum so far. In order for it to be democratic the following has to apply:

1) The question has to be clear and answerable with a yes or a no

2) All relevant information must be openly available for the public to be able to form an opinion.

3) The consequences must be clear.

None of these parameters are met with this ridiculous referendum. So for the first time since I was old enough to vote I will stay away from the voting booth. This farce served up by a lame-duck president and a Progressive Party pressure group called InDefence has nothing to do with democracy and I want nothing to do with it.

InDefence: Request For A Meeting With The Dutch Finance Committee

Dadi — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:09:03 +0000

I don’t know about you but I have no desire at all to have the InDefence group appear on my nation’s behalf at the Dutch Parliament.

“The InDefence group organized a petition in Iceland asking the president of Iceland not to sign the Icesave laws. The petition was signed by close to 25% of voters in Iceland and was the foundation for the president’s refusal to sign the laws. “

“The group would like to explain the problems with the current Icesave agreement and Iceland’s view of the Icesave dispute.”

InDefence – Request for a meeting with Dutch Parliament.PDF

This group of Progressive Party xenophobes and lawbreakers appear nowhere in my name.

InDefence’s Next Petition? (Video)

Dadi — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:21:05 +0000

Word is that new legislative body Olafur Ragnar Grimsson is acting quickly to ban all traces of DiHydrogen Monoxide from Iceland.

(Sorry could not resist )

Unexpected Support Against IceSave

Dadi — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:46:32 +0000

It is really nice to see the support the InDefence group has received in its fight against the IceSave agreement as this screen shot from their website where Icelanders are urged to sign a petition for the president to veto the bill once it is out of Althingi.

Icelanders are especially touched by Brad Pitt taking the time from his UN duties, the movies and Angelina and the kids to state his support.

Old friends Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini know injustice when they see it so they have signed up.

And most interestingly, Dutch finance minister Wouter Bos is with Iceland and so are Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling.

Rumour has it that both Donald and Scrooge McDuck have also shown their support.

Proof that either Icelanders are fighting a just cause or that they just mess everything up they come close to these days.

InDefence claims that 32.899 people support their cause. And that number is used in the media to show the overwhelming support the petition has received.

Adolf and friends say thanks.

Iceland’s Sheep On The Bandwagon

Dadi — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:06:43 +0000

The sheepish nature of Icelanders has revealed itself in three distinct ways during the last year. It is truly amazing what people sign up for without checking the small print. Icelanders are doing their best to portray themselves as naive and gullible by running like a herd of sheep towards events and projects without asking who is behind them and what is the motive before lending their names to said events and projects.

First off, In Defence is a curious group. Formed to protest against Britain’s “mistreatment” of Iceland in the total absence of any PR by the Icelandic government, its roots and motivations have been questioned due to its Kaupthing and Progressive Party links, notably here at IcelandTalks. The Indefence group not works directly in sync with the Progressive party, and act as an informal tool on the parties behalf.

Instead of asking who is behind the group, what is their motivation, wait…what is Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson doing there, who is paying and hey…isn’t this what we elected a government to do on our behalf, thousands signed up for their cause and even posed in photographs bearing the signs “I am not a terrorist Mr. Brown”. Well he never said we were, and before acting all hyperbolical maybe we should ask Mr. Brown for the reason why Icelandic banks ended up on the UK terrorist list? Mass hysteria at worst, a decent PR campaign at best. Right now the group is asking people to sign a petition to the president to ask him to not approve the IceSave agreement. Almost five thousand experts in international law and finance have stated their support already.

The second mass gathering of sheep thought it was a gathering of ants. I have written about the total lack of critical thought which accompanied that gathering where 1.200 people agreed to participate in a mass focus group. And once some people (including me) started asking questions they were written off as negative and depressive, without any answers being provided. The people who parked illegally outside the conference hall then agreed that honesty was to be Iceland’s guiding light in the future. Now the founders of the Anthill which includes the environment minister have been asked to assist a congressional committee with their expertise on Icelandic values. Empowered by people who probably don’t know their names.

The third mass hysteria so far is Thjodarhagur which says it is gathering a group of individual investors to buy Hagar’s retail empire from Kaupthing/Arion. Close to 5.000 people have pledged their support to a group whose website doesn’t even say who is behind. Why don’t they just erect a mailbox downtown with the engraving “give us your money”? Considering Icelanders sheep mentality they’d be up to their ears in cash within days.

The economic crash happened because of the lack of and repression of critical thought in Iceland. The nation would do well to learn its lessons and ask who, what, where, why and how before jumping aboard any bandwagons in the current climate.

Others who where a part of the Indefence group included Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, an economist as well, who worked with Magnús Árni in his firm. Early this year Sigmundur Davíð was voted the party chairman of the Progressive party in Iceland. And subsequently got a seat in parliament in the last elections. Sigmundur was also a spokesperson for the Indefence group.

When he was voted in a highly organised coop, the chairman of the Progressive party, he no longer spoke on behalf of the group. He was still seen with them and plays a very important part there. Or should we say that the group plays an important part in his politics. The Indefence group not works directly in sync with the Progressive party, and a Instead of asking who is behind the group, isn’t the government supposed to be doing this and