Monday, April 29, 2013

Globe Nice to Iceland

That's a switch:

"Iceland puts center-right in control" Associated Press, April 29, 2013

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — In a dramatic about-face, Icelandic voters have returned to power the center-right parties that led the national economy to collapse five years ago.

With all votes counted Sunday, the conservative Independence Party and rural-based Progressive Party — who governed Iceland for decades before the 2008 crash — each had 19 seats in Iceland’s 63-seat Parliament, the Althingi.

The parties, who vow to ease Icelanders’ economic pain with tax cuts and debt relief, took 51 percent of the vote between them, and are likely to form a coalition government.

Voters shunned the Social Democrat-led coalition that has spent four years trying to turn the nation around with austerity measures. The Social Democrats took nine seats and their former coalition partners the Left-Greens got seven. A pro-Bright Future party has six seats and Web freedom activists, Pirate Party, has three.

‘‘We are . . . very grateful for the support,’’ said Independence Party chief Bjarni Benediktsson. He or Progressive Party chief Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, 38, will probably become Iceland’s next prime minister.

The shift to the right will almost certainly shelve Iceland’s plans to join the European Union.

They elected the left to punish the bankers, and now they went right to stay out of the debt-enslaving EU!

--more--"

"Iceland’s president to speak at International Trade Day

The president of Iceland is coming to Maine. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson will be the keynote speaker at Maine International Trade Day on May 31 at the Marriott at Sable Oaks in South Portland. Grimsson will speak about business opportunities that might be created as climate change shrinks the polar ice cap. His visit comes a couple of months after Icelandic shipping company Eimskip made Portland its primary East Coast port of call. Grimsson is expected to discuss how the receding polar ice could open northern shipping routes between North America, Europe, and Asia in the future, while making natural resources such as gas and iron ore more accessible."

Related: Slow Saturday Special: Swedish Snapshot

I guess Iceland(?) isn't near Sweden. Maybe ice-breakers will be big business.

Also see: Globe Not Nice to Iceland 

Not nice to anyone except you know who.