Standing firm amid the ice: His Excellency Olafur Grimsson, the president of Iceland
This story has limited Charlton content, except that many Charlton fans live in Kent (as Rick Everitt loses no opportunity to remind us) and therefore they may have an interest in the substantial sums of money that Kent County Council has lost to Icelandic banks.
In 1974 I was at an international conference in Edinburgh which I had a hand in organising. (One of my main tasks was to ensure that the Soviet delegation fulfilled their wish to see the Scottish crown jewels). A big, strong young man bounded up to me and introduced himself as Olafur Grimsson. He made a strong impression on me.
He was the first person from Iceland I had met, but as a consequence I became quite interested in this starkly beautiful country. I followed his career with interest and he is now in his fourth term as president of Iceland. He has probably been the most controversial president in the country's short history, using his veto for the first time and marrying a glamorous (Israeli) second wife shortly after his popular first wife died.
What I have been conscious of in Iceland is how tenacious the people are, not surprising given their small numbers and climate. We saw this tenacity in the Cod Wars when Britain was smartly double crossed. Cold on the surface, they are deeply patriotic and will explode like volcanoes at any slight to their country's honour. The film Reykjavik 101 gives some idea of what a strange country this is. Think also of some of the pop stars they have produced. They certainly punch well above their weight.
As The Times said yesterday, there has always been a strong whiff of Thai-style crony capitalism about Iceland. Some years ago I received a tip from an Icelandic source about a company on the London stock exchange that was about to be taken over. I didn't act on it, but I could have made myself a small fortune if I had.
More recently, ill intentioned people have started totally false rumours that the current financial boom was started by the recycling of Russian money that did not meet the highest standards of international financial probity. Given that Russia has offered to step in to avoid the country going bankrupt (as happened in the 1930s to Newfoundland), the Icelandic Government would be well advised to knock these false rumours well on the head once and for all.
I would not have let any of my money near an Icelandic bank, so what do Kent County Council think they were playing at? Of course, the interest rates were high. But, if it is too good to be true, it probably is. For months the Financial Times has been running stories about how the highly leveraged Icelandic economy was increasingly in what George Bush Snr. called deep do do. Perhaps someone in Maidstone could have picked up a copy of the FT and taken the money out?
It will be interesting to see whether Iceland repays one krona. Somehow I doubt it.
Incidentally, since I first wrote this story I have learnt that Olafur is out of action with heart trouble. I hope that he gets well soon, as his stabilising influence would be valuable in this situation.
5 comments:
it's a reak shame. I visited Reykjavik in 2006 and loved the dreamy and patriotic people. The people I'd image are very bewildered by whathas happened to their country, particularly when most work in the fishing and tourist industries.
Wyn, 18 months ago a friend of mine who is a project manager at a global (still solvent) bank was asked by his trading director to go to Iceland and investigate the possibility of buying a seat on the Reykjavík stock exchange. He produced his report and they were all set to proceed until their regulatory people read the report and stopped the transaction. The reason was the Russian connection you mentioned. I'm amazed this hasn't been more publicised. How can a country of 300,000 people with no natural resources produce so much apparent wealth? How can their banks be AA+ rated?
There is a lot more to be uncovered in the Icelandic "miracle" story
Thanks for this comment. If I knew about the (alleged) Russian connection, then how come so few people seem to have known about it? Or perhaps they did and conveniently forgot about it?
I'd like to pose some questions to the local authorities who put taxpayers' money in Icelandic banks:
Who recommended these banks as a safe investment?
Who gave approval?
Did any local authority employees or councillors enjoy hospitality from Icelandic banks? If so, will they publish the details?
Local authorities are trying to claim that they were told to make these investments by the Government which gives them an alibi. I do not believe that the Government gave them a specific instruction of that kind, any more than they told them to put their money on some nag running in the 2.30 at Sandown. As for the hospitality question, I have no such information, but it is a pertinent question to ask.
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