A new Iceland is being built

The Icelandic financial crisis was caused by a clique of men within politics and business who were too closely associated with each other. This is the view of many Icelanders. They want to see a fundamental change to this situation when the new Iceland is rebuilt.

There are clear signs that something is happening in Iceland. The solid stone building of the Icelandic Parliament, the Alþingi, has historically housed a considerable male dominance. In 2007, 32 per cent of women were elected to the Parliament, but this proportion increased to 43 per cent in the latest election, held on 25 April 2009.

Furthermore, Iceland now has its first ever female Prime Minister – Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir – and a government consisting of six women and six men.

...many want the new Iceland to be built on values other than those that led to the financial crisis. And the new Iceland must not be built without the participation of women. This was an important theme in the demonstrations that resulted in the resignation of the former government.

Time for women to take control
“The demonstrators said that now is the time for women to rule,” Lila Mósesdóttir reports. “Not just in politics, but also in business life. ...

...“The Icelandic banking system was male dominated,” says Katrín Jakobsdóttir. “There has been a discussion as to whether the financial crisis would have happened at all if there had been more women in the sector.”

“I think it is a question of masculinity. They took big chances, lived a glamorous life and held a masculine view. This was also true of the previous government.”

Such criticism led to the fall of the previous government and has resulted in more women entering politics, but according to Katrín Jakobsdóttir the business sector has not changed.

“The world of finance was run by masculine values before the financial crisis,” says Þóranna Jónsdóttir. “It consisted of interwoven relationships.”

“Firstly, the finance companies invested with a very narrow spread of risk. There was extremely high risk behaviour. This was far beyond what is sensible. The main focus was short term. Nobody thought about the broader context.”

“Secondly, there was a lack of transparency. There was a promise of profits, but it wasn’t easy to see the real value of the investments.”

“Thirdly, there was a narrow definition of what success is made of. Money, and money only was the issue. Of course money is important, but it is not everything.”

Originally posted by Compulsionist
reply to post by Merriman Weir

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We are on ATS and yet I'm reading post after post from uninformed regular people ready to stab each other in the back for the Banksters.

Regular people here in Iceland had nothing to do with these bankers and took no profits , man - if you had any idea what is going down in this country .....

Do you realise that the referendum was about terms and conditions ?
NOT about NOT paying at all ?

NOBODY has said that we shouldn´t pay at all , even though that´s my opinion.

Do you realise that this was private bank that I and everyone I know had NEVER heard of ?

Do you realise that ALL the perpetrators/banksters live in LONDON !?

Do you realise that the UK used Terrorist laws against my country.We are proud and we will never - ever forget that.

Do you realise that all around me people are loosing their jobs , homes, savings ...all services are being cut down. Due to greedy Banksters.

And what happens ? Regular people turn against each other when this is the time for all of us to stand together against this EVIL we call the banking/government system.

Don't worry mate , Icelanders will not stand for this , we are taking this thing down.

People are growing suspicious of the EU," said Gudbjorg Andrea Jonsdottir, director at pollster Capacent. "They see the way Greece is being treated and realize that the type of security they hoped to gain as an EU member may not be there for the taking."

In a referendum on debts Saturday, Icelanders soundly rejected the last "Icesave" accord, venting anger at local bankers and politicians blamed for the collapse, as well as the "unfair" repayment terms offered by Britain and the Netherlands.

Though not part of the negotiations, the EU was also blamed.

"The Icelandic public at large felt the EU was taking sides with the British and the Dutch," Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson said. "It was felt that the EU was supporting the British and the Dutch in abusing the IMF to hand-collect debts."