Official says Icelandic gov't could fall this wknd

[Robbien]

Source: AP

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Iceland's government could be ousted from power this weekend, becoming Europe's first to fall as a direct result of the global financial crisis, a spokesman for the prime minister said Saturday.

Thousands of people gathered to protest the government's handling of the economy outside the country's parliament building as Prime Minister Geir Haarde's Independence Party held crisis talks with its coalition partner, the Social Democratic Alliance.

The alliance may seek to oust Haarde and form a minority government with opposition parties until May elections, a spokeswoman for the prime minister said.
. . .

Inflation and unemployment have soared, and the krona currency has plummeted. Haarde's government has nationalized banks and negotiated around $10 billion in loans from the IMF and individual countries. But the country faces a bill likely to run to billions of dollars to repay thousands of Europeans who held accounts with subsidiaries of collapsed Icelandic banks.


Read more: http://www.pr-inside.com/official-says-icelandic-gov-t-could-fall-r1023972.htm

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another article describes events leading up to this:

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLO529629

REYKJAVIK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters called on Saturday for Iceland's government to step down immediately, dismissing the prime minister's promise to resign and call an early election.

Prime Minister Geir Haarde, sick with cancer, said on Friday he would quit under the cloud of the country's economic collapse and called for a May 9 election.

Police estimated as many as 6,000 demonstrators stood on the square outside Iceland's Althing parliament, some carrying signs demanding "a new democracy". It was the fifth straight day of protests, and the demonstration was a big as any since regular Saturday protests started in October.

. . .

Haarde told national radio on Saturday he had not stepped down because of the plunging popularity of his coalition and said he hoped to run the government until the elections, despite his health problems. He said he was going abroad, probably to the Netherlands, for surgery to treat a malignant tumour of the oesophagus.

. . .

Polls show that Haarde's Independence Party, which has run Iceland in coalitions for more than 17 years, will likely be the big loser in an election and that there has been a strong shift in favour of the opposition Left-Green and Progressive parties.

Protests turned violent in the early hours of Thursday, with demonstrators pressing for Haarde, the central bank governor and other senior officials to go. Police used teargas for the first time since 1949 against demonstrators.

One day protests obtain relatively nothing. Sustained protests seem to get results.

[NM Independent]

1. Well, at least they're getting rid of the right leaning government,

and putting in it's place some lefties/progressives. That's definitely good news.

[Optical.Catalyst]

2. So the Bush Administration wrecks the World Economy

Iceland holds on until President Obama takes office.

Bush causes the Government of Iceland to fail, but watch the right wingers try and push this off onto our President.

[Third Doctor]

3. It's time

for the return of the Viking lords in Iceland.

[Thothmes]

5. Whats wrong with the Icelanders determining their own fate

Why do they need "Viking Lords" to determine their fate?

[Alhena]

6. I hate Bush, but Iceland dug its own grave ...

they ran their entire financial system like a hedge fund and allowed it to get much larger than the GDP of the country could support. It was inevitable that the world financial markets would eventually lose confidence in Icelandic banks and that they would fail.

[Skink]

7. Madoff was running Iceland?

[file83]

4. And that's just little Iceland, imagine if it were the USA: The bigger they are...

...the harder they fall. Yikes.

[Hydra]

8. A helpful DUer posted some information on how the UK caused this crisis

Using anti-terrorism laws to freeze assets and such back when this was getting REALLY bad. Keep in mind that nothing is as it seems lately.

[depakid]

10. DUer ExPatLeftist is in Iceland and adds his take here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x263113#263170

From what I've gleaned, Iceland's government got themselves into this mess quite nicely on their own, and this was essentially a calamity just waiting to happen.

The consequences of buying into Milton Friedman's ideology.

[Doremus]

9. Milton Friedman strikes again.

Greedy Icelandic conservatives bought Friedman's BS and destroyed their economy.

Good on the Icelandic people for ousting their version of Buscho. I hope the perpetrators are eventually tried and punished. Friedman's already got his -- may it last for eternity.

[Hannah Bell]

11. I don't get it. Why must "the country" pay back investors, when it's the banks who took their money?

[conspirator]

13. Because banks own the governments, governments receive bribes

to let the corporations rob the people. Since banks and government are the same. It doesn't matter who really is compensating the people. Why do you think banks are entitled to our tax money? Because they are basically owned by the same people who owns the governments.

[Political Heretic]

12. Sustained protests seem to get results....... in Iceland

I finished your sentence for you, OP.

[tama]

15. I think

what made them finally "see the light" was PM getting egged when his car got stuck in the middle of an angry crowd.

Perhaps the PM realized that better to stop there, before the protesters escalate from throwing rotten eggs to throwing rotten shark - that "delicatesse" is deadly.

[tama]

14. According the polls

the big winner will be Green-Left coalition (ecosocialist+feminist party), who in last elections gained allready 13% of the vote, and their chairman might become the next PM.

For more info:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x419680#419692

[Political Heretic]

17. Let's band together and form a commune in Iceland!

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Iceland's commerce minister resigns

Iceland's Minister of Commerce resigned his post on Sunday, citing the pressures of the island nation's economic collapse.

Bjorgvin Sigurdsson told reporters he had quit and had also fired the head of the Iceland's financial supervisory authority.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j40SlN_7l6iQqc28h0N38_iULIZgD95U5M5O1

[Robbien]

18. The rampant greed was completely out of control and the corruption overwhelming.

Iceland's top economy minister has resigned amid protests over the credit crunch and fears it will take down entire European governments. Banking minister Bjorgvin Sigurdsson steps down.

Icelandic Finance Minister Quits

Iceland is in for a rough ride.