David Gunnlaugsson served as prime minister of Iceland
Iceland’s twelfth biggest settlement has been abandoned. For the past few weeks, Grindavík, a thriving town with a strong community of working people and a long history going back as far as 930 AD, has experienced terrifying earthquakes. The population was then evacuated after a magma dyke started pushing its way up to the surface.
Just as I sat down to watch the Friday evening news last week, I received a distress call. On the phone was a man I had never met. He was desperately searching for a venue for a lesbian, gay and bisexual organisation wishing to hold a one-day seminar taking place the next day. This was
A winter of discontent is underway in Europe. Germany, France and Britain are the biggest economies in Europe: all face a battle to keep the lights on over the coming months. There are warnings of energy rationing, blackouts and the forced closure of factories as the continent weans itself off Russian gas. How did it
My church attendance leaves something to be desired and I can’t cite Bible verses for every occasion. Yet for as long as I can remember, I have been a staunch supporter of the Christian church. But while I’m always willing to speak up for the church, it is not always willing to defend itself. Iceland
Claims that Priti Patel broke the Ministerial Code and the resulting furore have exposed one of the greatest problems facing modern politics. No, not the widespread bullying of civil servants by ministers. But rather a systematic breakdown in the effectiveness of the fundamental ideals of liberal democracies. We politicians have for years increasingly outsourced political power
May 10, 1940 is known in Britain as the day when Winston Churchill became prime minister. In my home country of Iceland that same day, 80 years ago, is remembered for a very different reason. On the day Churchill took control of defending the United Kingdom against invasion, Iceland was invaded: by the United Kingdom.
Iceland’s 648 confirmed cases of coronavirus seem to indicate that our country now has one of the highest infection rates per capita in the world. But what do confirmed numbers really tell us about the spread of the virus? Only a few weeks ago, planes filled with passengers returning to Iceland from ski resorts in
Is Iceland on the global warming front line? You’d be forgiven for thinking so. We’ve all seen the documentaries where teary-eyed reporters stand perilously close to melting glaciers. In August, a funeral was even held for the first Icelandic glacier ‘lost to climate change’. Foreign dignitaries now hardly visit my country without taking a trip
Boris Johnson has been criticised for sending the European Union a letter conveying his real opinion about a Brexit extension along with a photocopy of the letter Parliament dictated and forced him to send. Yet the Prime Minister was entirely justified – and right – in doing so. Parliament certainly can – and should –
For onlookers it is astonishing to see the British establishment, commentators and a majority of MPs try to scuttle the negotiating position of their own country in its most important negotiations in living memory. Admittedly Iceland, my small country, has had its own share of fifth column interventions in times of crises. Still, it is
I have no doubt that Britain will thrive after leaving the EU, whether or not it leaves with a deal. I say this as a former prime minister of a country, Iceland, which left the EU before it had even joined — and which went on to prosper in a way which would have been
