Iceland: a chillier Dubai

In an interview for the Sunday Times, Dorrit Moussaieff, the wife of Iceland's President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, describes her view of Iceland's future. Excerpt:

Indeed, she’s hoping to turn the country into a sort of deluxe haven where cosseted clients from around the world can come and pick up treats: a chillier version of Dubai, with fish and geysers instead of sand. Moussaieff has stumbled upon a disused airbase in Iceland and hopes to transform it into a store for art collections that people will then be able to visit. She has teamed up with her great friend the art collector and heiress Francesca von Habsburg for the scheme.

Red-Green coalition in Iceland

It looks as though Iceland's troubles may be about to take a turn for the worse: in the aftermath of the resignation of the country's prime minister and government yesterday, a minority Red-Green coalition is in the process of being formed, and is likely to govern after the elections scheduled for May. The FT has some comment here.

an icelandic economist in soho

By Sjón

(my tr.)

orange tents
sprout up
around the pub

and he wonders
if the flies that seek  his beer
are real

*

the world’s economy is governed by a giant baby
that extends between the oceans

when it cries the shares fall one after the other

like snow buntings
over snow
in a snowy winter
like snow buntings
over a snowy winter
on snow
like snow
over snow buntings
in a snowy winter
like snow
over a snowy winter
on snow buntings
like a snowy winter
over snow buntings
on snow
like a snowy winter
over snow
on snow buntings

and the change in his pockets grows lighter

*

the gust of wind
that crosses the square
and is meant for him alone

it opens the tent flaps
so that the listening device
comes into view

and he wonders
if the girl at the cash desk
isn’t  a bit mechanical in her movements

More on Iceland

Actions and statements from around the world about the crisis in Iceland continue to be characterized by excessive rhetoric and harshness. The Danish economic analyst Carsten Valgreen has said that Iceland will soon be "the Zimbabwe of the North Atlantic", presumably referring to Iceland's economic situation, and not to its excellent human rights record. Meanwhile, a tour of Japan by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra has been cancelled by the Japanese organizers, apparently on the grounds that they fear not enough Japanese concertgoers will attend the performances.