Iceland's financial collapse has led its people to vote for a change of government. Another by-product of trauma is the opportunity for a shift in the country's national discourse, says Sumarliði Ãsleifsson.
27 - 04 - 2009
The financial implosion of 2008-09 in Iceland, felt at every level of this society, has now had a political answer too. The general election of 24 April 2009 shows a substantial increase in the centre-left vote, enough to produce a government of a different colour.
How different it will be in practice remains to be seen. Iceland's economic problems run deep, and the next government's task is a big one. At the same time, no one expects politicians to produce instant answers to the issues of debt, unemployment and poverty the country faces.
Many other Icelanders are already looking for answers in other areas, including the skills and resources that were neglected during the boom years. In my view, this process of recovery could also benefit from renewed debate about prevailing national self-images. A look at how Icelanders' ways of seeing themselves have evolved (and persisted) through the island's history may offer some insight into their current predicament. What is interesting in this process is that - as so often with small countries - it begins with outsiders' perception of the Icelanders.
Iceland: self-image after crisis
Sumarliði Ãsleifsson
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/iceland-self-image-after-crisis
Iceland's financial collapse has led its people to vote for a change of government. Another by-product of trauma is the opportunity for a shift in the country's national discourse, says Sumarliði Ãsleifsson.
27 - 04 - 2009
The financial implosion of 2008-09 in Iceland, felt at every level of this society, has now had a political answer too. The general election of 24 April 2009 shows a substantial increase in the centre-left vote, enough to produce a government of a different colour.
How different it will be in practice remains to be seen. Iceland's economic problems run deep, and the next government's task is a big one. At the same time, no one expects politicians to produce instant answers to the issues of debt, unemployment and poverty the country faces.
Many other Icelanders are already looking for answers in other areas, including the skills and resources that were neglected during the boom years. In my view, this process of recovery could also benefit from renewed debate about prevailing national self-images. A look at how Icelanders' ways of seeing themselves have evolved (and persisted) through the island's history may offer some insight into their current predicament. What is interesting in this process is that - as so often with small countries - it begins with outsiders' perception of the Icelanders.