The tab is £3.5 billion. The population of Iceland is only 320,000. The bailout is up for a possible vote in Iceland on March 6. The public will have a say, if the vote does actually occur.
Ambassador Hjálmar W. Hannesson, Iceland's Ambassador to the United States emails this FT column by Brit John Kay who outlines why the EU demand on the people of Iceland is outrageous. Kay concludes:
Our rationale for bullying the people of Iceland is the rationale of all bullies: we are doing it because we can. Or because we thought we could. Now Iceland again has the upper hand. If the vote on March 6 goes ahead the public will be given its first opportunity to reject the claim that it must take financial responsibility for the failures of banks and bankers. That will be a game-changing event, which is why Britain and Holland are negotiating. We should be ashamed of ourselves.
Good for Kay, this is outrageous and the citizens of Iceland, if a vote is actually scheduled, should simply flash a group "moon" in Britain's direction and cast no votes at all.
ReplyDeleteBut Kay is wrong in calling for "embarassement", thats too mild. The EU officials who are "negotiating" to avoid the vote and intimidate Iceland into making some payment should be publicly flogged or perhaps tar and feathered by their own citizens.