Iceland appoints new prime minister
Meet Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland's next interim prime minister.
Iceland's next leader will be an openly gay former flight attendant who parlayed her experience as a union organizer into a decades-long political career...."Now we need a strong government that works with the people," Sigurdardottir told reporters Wednesday, adding that a new administration will likely be installed Saturday.
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Wow, thats so awesome!
[Yes, I'm the first commentator.]
It rocks my face off! Woot woot Iceland!
Fuck yeah! I am so moving to Iceland.
Nice!! Go Iceland!
Iceland is pretty forward when it comes to equality. The very first woman elected to lead any country in the world was Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, president of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. Before then no women had ever held the highest office in their country.
I have a friend who is a journalist in Iceland and several years ago he told me about an abortion scandal that rocked the country. A woman had gone to a religious hospital to get an abortion. They told her they didn't offer them there, so they drove her to a hospital that did offer them and helped her check in. The *most conservative* paper in the country wrote an editorial complaining that she should have been provided the abortion at the first hospital. It was a national scandal that any hospital would not provide an abortion.
I am very, very sad about the state of Iceland right now. Their financial situation is just awful and people are losing everything. There are demonstrations every week.
What about Golda Meir? She was Israel's prime minister in 1969-1974. She was the world's third female prime minister, but the first to hold that position without any prior family connections.
One more awesome story on Iceland, since seriously, how often does it come up?
My Icelandic journalist friend was at the airport with a few other Icelandic journalists to meet JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessett when they arrived in Iceland as part of their honeymoon. JFK walked up to the reporters and explained they were there on their honeymoon, so they would appreciate privacy. The journalists just said "sure thing", got in their cars, and went home, without a single picture or interview. Later, when the American news agencies called for pictures, they were told they didn't take any since they were asked not to. The American journalists were horrified! I love that story!
This is very exciting news. Though Iceland is certainly a progressive country, I would like to point out that Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, Indira Gandhi was elected Prime Minister of India in 1966, among others.
Ahh, true, true, I should have said first elected "president". Meir and Gandhi were definitely elected before her. Thank you for the reminder.
Ah, I'm sorry, I replied to your first comment before I saw someone else had already said what I wanted to say.
Given Iceland's dismal situation, a variation on that Onion headline springs to mind: "Lesbian given nation's worst job."
When I was ten years old, I cultivated this fascination with Iceland -- helped by almanac statistics and knowledge of its parliament being the oldest continually-operating one in the world -- and aspired to move there. Things like this remind me of why.
WHo cares the country is done for. ALL of the upswing the country had was a bubble with no or little substance. That country of 300 000 was a wee bit too optimistic.
I hope they are not allowed in the EU so we can bail them out. That would be a slap in the face of countries who have lined up to join and are far better of, like Turkey. Especially considering they did not want to share the loot when things looked rosey for Iceland.
Also I do not see how it is progressive that a woman has been put in a position where she basically needs to beg better off countries for help, when no man wanted the position. Is that really the place where feminists want women ?
It is progressive that she was in the high government position that led to her appointment as interim prime minister, regardless of the country's financial affairs. You might say it was more impressive, given that she is being entrusted with the country's future in a very serious way.
Also, I don't feel that Iceland would necessarily be a burden on the EU. They aren't being "bailed out" by the EU; they're seeking IMF loans to cover their commitments. When the economy recovers I expect other EU countries will benefit greatly from access to fishing territories, which I believe is the major incentive accompanying their application.
Iceland is not "done for"; in so small a country things turn around quickly, as we've unfortunately already witnessed. Their population is one of the most progressive, ecological and well-educated in the world, after all.