According to a new MMR poll conducted for Stod 2, Iceland will reject the so-called Icesave deal at this Saturday’s referendum.
According to the poll, 57 percent of voters intend to vote against the repayment plan for bankrupt Landsbanki’s Icesave internet savings accounts in the UK and Netherlands. This result represents a complete turnaround on the issue in the weeks leading up to the plebiscite.
The opinion poll was conducted by MMR between the 4th and 6th April and some 1,500 people were contacted. It is important to note, however, that only 942 of the people contacted (roughly 60 percent) chose to answer the question “If the new Icesave law was voted on today, would you vote with or against?”. There is no way of knowing how many of the ‘mystery’ 40 percent will turn out to vote or whether they will vote yes or no.
Of those who did answer, 56.8 percent said they would vote against the law and 43.2 percent said they would vote for it. If this is the way the vote goes on Saturday, then the law would be nullified. Older polls suggested the public were going to vote ‘yes’.
11 of the Independence Party’s 16 MPs voted in parliament for the Icesave III bill which was passed by Althingi but then sent to the nation by the president. Among them was Independence Party leader Bjarni Benediktsson. When it came to light that there would be another referendum, Benediktsson publicly stated that he would not campaign for or against (but that he would vote for the law, as he did in parliament). None of the 11 Independence Party MPs have been campaigning either way for the referendum. According to the poll, only a quarter of Independence Party voters intend to vote ‘yes’ on Saturday.
This is even lower support than among Progressive Party voters, whose MPs either abstained or voted against the law in parliament.
Social Democrat voters mostly plan to vote ‘yes’, while Left Green voters are divided.
With only seven percent in it and 40 percent of respondents refusing to take part, campaigners on both sides will surely pay little attention to this poll. It does, however, add substance to the feeling in Iceland that the ‘no’ camp has gained a lot of ground in recent weeks.
Anyone in the Iceland government starting to have sleepless nights?
Getting more complicated?
See you in the EFTA court.
The EFTA court will tell you what to do next.
I love Iceland.
Lot of threats here from the Yes supporters, ‘If you don’t support this deal we’ll take your houses.’ ‘You owe this to grandmothers and orphans in Europe.’ BS, you are a tiny little country and should keep what is yours.
Go Iceland! Keep voting ‘NO’ to debts which you have no part in creating. Keep giving hope to the rest of the world that someone can beat the bankers. God I wish Ireland had done what you are doing. And Greece. And Spain. Pretty soon there would be brushfire which the banks couldn’t extinguish and then we might all get a new lease on life.
Here in Canada we get governments which take power on 35% of the popular vote and even for that they have to use every dirty trick and all the influence money and a controlled media can buy. We’re having an election now which is one big dog and pony show – nobody ever mentions bank debt although it is the biggest part of our debt and has been for years. We owe over a trillion dollars in foreign debt while our national bank sits there wagging its limp little tail and does nothing. When we had a responsible government they used the national bank to create our own money (much like North Dakota does to this day) and used it to fund what was once a great national health care system and a prosperous economy. That all came to an end in 1974 and though we still have the health care it is nowhere near as good as it used to be and private interests here and in the States are doing their best to privatize it little by little. It’s a joke to call it democracy. The only kind of democracy which matters is the kind you are using by referendum. Ask yourself what have the bankers done for you lately. Oh, they threaten to destroy your country if you don’t pay their dirty usurious debts? Well, that’s not good enough. You should send that rich bank family in England another Ferrari and tell them, ‘That’s it! Drive around some more and don’t come back to Iceland.’
http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/wildbankers.php
“If there was no legal claim that could be made for you Peter to pay for this, would you pay ?”
Yet, you expect Dutch and British taxpayers to pay for it on your behalf?
Whatever the faults of other countries governments, its own citizens are responsible for it. Iceland uses its supposed democracy to dump its criminals and debt onto others.
I’ve said it before, its too late to complain about it now you had years to rein in your crooks and you didn’t.
“Yes! Our plan is to first get the guarantee in place and then get the Emergency Law overturned and non-discrimination imposed”
I expect the plan will be to claim non-discrimination and demand 100% repayment the same as Icelandic citizens.
>would you pay ?
Of course not, because it happened within Iceland and under its laws.
Geez, it’s not a difficult concept. If you want to be a province, then you get to push the blame elsewhere. Otherwise, the buck stops there.
>The British and Dutch will deal with the matter.
Yes! Our plan is to first get the guarantee in place and then get the Emergency Law overturned and non-discrimination imposed. Soon Iceland will be ours!
Peter said
“You think these ‘private’ banks appeared out of nowhere and were not the children of a corrupt Icelandic political system?”
If British investor came to Britain with pockets full of Russian mafia money and bought a bank, then robbed it from the inside, cleaned it out and sucked every last drop of blood from it using every possible scam and fraud known to man, and some new ones,
then fly away to Cayman islands and Tortola with bags of money, leaving you to pay for this.
If there was no legal claim that could be made for you Peter to pay for this, would you pay ?.
The political system of the world is corrupt, it always has been,
in Iceland it is in my mind utterly disgusting.
I expect considerable reactions from the EU and IMF,
When Haiti decided to end slavery they became a pariah state and was destroyed by the world elite, i suspect something similar will be dished out for Iceland.
The emergency law introduced by the Iceland government is what made everything unfair and created this whole mess.
These banks clearly commited big fraud and lied to the investors.
The Icelandic government should never have meddled in these Bank’s affairs and a fair process should have been followed to dissolve these banks and pay the creditors equally, albeit 10-20 returns%
But Iceland wanted everything, not to pay the ivestors and still pay the Icelandic depositors from the the proceeds fo these Banks.
You cannot have both. Something is very wrong with the process.
The British and Dutch will deal with the matter.
These are very influencial and very powerful nations that determine the direction of history. Glad these two nations are taking things seriously. Wonder when the Germans will act, because they lost big money in Iceland.
Watch this space in the next few months.
“Why should Icelandic taxpayers, like myself, take the hit for investors and bondholders who invested in a private bank ?”
Well, for a start, you as taxpayers paid for and supported those private banks in their fraud. When the benefits of that fraud came in, you, as taxpayers, got your share.
You think these ‘private’ banks appeared out of nowhere and were not the children of a corrupt Icelandic political system?
People think they should always get a return on their investments. That’s like saying people should always win when gambling.
Where is the logic here?
anonymous1
Why should Icelandic taxpayers, like myself, take the hit for investors and bondholders who invested in a private bank ?
You invested in a bank that went bankrupt, one that had NO state guarantee,
your money is lost, i did not tell you to invest in those bonds, so dont come crying to me, i will NEVER pay one cent of your losses.
”
Now some idiots are mixing Fraud and Politics by saying that Iceland has the balls to stand up and not pay in the name of democracy?
Fraud and politics are closely tied together, you will be scre*ed constantly over and over again until you can understand that.
Of late we seem to have some real big idiots on this blogg that have no knowledge about politics or finance.
The Icelandic Banks defrauded thousands of families all over the world, 119 countries all together. Double digit Billions of Euros and Dollars. This money is somewhere. Impossible to make this quantity of money invisible overnight.
These families all over the world are desperate for their money.
Now some idiots are mixing Fraud and Politics by saying that Iceland has the balls to stand up and not pay in the name of democracy?
If I come to Iceland and steal my money back, can I blame it on democracy too? I’ll say it is my democratic right to take my money.
These were Banks that defrauded and lied to the investors.
We just want our money back. This money is somewhere in some “Fat Cat” pockets.
“I wondering, isn’t a state guarantee on any private buisness unlawful according to the EU law?”
Yes it is,
the bankers want to create a trend to make ordinary people pay for their mistakes and criminal actions and have unfortunetly been very successful, just look at Greece and Ireland,
both ruined states, now Portugal is next,
Portugal is not being bailed out, bankers are bailing themselves out at the expense of the portugese people, just like in Greece and Ireland.
Bromley said
“Would you want Jon the plumber deciding what the interest rate should be. How about Sarah the nurse spending her evenings boning up on regulatory structures so she can decide how best to stop very clever people getting around bank regulations?”
Yes please, it would be alot better than having rented politicians at the chamber of commmerce spending most days and evenings looking for ways around laws and regulations for their masters,
90% of recommendations to change laws that came from the chamber of commerce went trough parliament by way of paid political prostitutes in parliament, many of them now fired.
According to our constitution politicians are personaly responsible for all illegal activities, and not the state.
I wondering, isn’t a state guarantee on any private buisness unlawful according to the EU law?
>So lets give Jon the plumber and Sarah the nurse, free accsess to legal and economic advice
Mad! Seriously, do you have any idea of the cost? And that’s assuming they even understand it – the sheer amount of wrong thinking in the “No” camp on the internet is amazing.
Note that I’m not saying that everyone should vote “Yes”, just that whichever way they vote they should understand the realities of their situation better than they appear to.
So lets give Jon the plumber and Sarah the nurse, free accsess to legal and economic advice.
>Iceland is the example than the people is much important than the politicans who make the wrong decision without responsabilty in his lifes.
Would you want Jon the plumber deciding what the interest rate should be. How about Sarah the nurse spending her evenings boning up on regulatory structures so she can decide how best to stop very clever people getting around bank regulations?
MPs are imperfect, but at least they have free access to legal and economic advice.
Time to change, the representative democratic systme it´s over, we have now the technology to make the Clear and Transparence System, in other words, people have the power, and the web is the base to do that.
Iceland is the example than the people is much important than the politicans who make the wrong decision without responsabilty in his lifes. Time to change, the people is being to wake up.
That’s right, Randy! You tell ’em. Don’t forget to give them some advice on how to be self-sufficient in the age of a global economy, ’cause that’s what they’re going to get if they turn down Icesave III.
Hi there! You Icelanders ROCK! Stand up to the corrupt bankers! They squandered money and put the private debts onto stupid governments! You are the only nation who told them where to go! PLEASE, PLEASE continue. If you can show the world that losses from private frauds cannot be foisted on public debt maybe the chickens that roost in the USA will follow and bring down their corrupt government.
Don’t be taken like fools – like Marc below “I suppose that it’s always easier not to pay a big debt if you think you can get away with it. Of course, when you take someone’s money and refuse to repay it, you cannot expect this to be without consequences
It was the debt of private banks that some other idiots in the UK and Holland decided to take onto themselves! That is not a reason for the people to starve so that their sick ideas and schemes do not pay off for them? Marc is right if you just keep putting those who actually took someone’s money in jail! Stop the shenannigans!
” Refusing this Icesave deal doesn’t mean the debt won’t be paid back, it just means it will be paid back in less beneficial terms.. ”
Another true factual part in a post from you Peter. My congratulation.
” and without reference to Iceland or its affect to its economy.”
Well that will be covered by the court that does decide this — probably EFTA court will come up with some parameters based on the EU directives that apply.
How ever I agree that IceSave III was a well done negotiation and a fair deal has been presented.
I do hope that country men and womens do bother to actually listen to Mr Buchet interviews who does give it a good explanation.
If it is that Dutch and British do have to sue our guarantee fund here in our court and wait the short time for results to go up to EFTA Court it — probably within 1-2 months, then 6- 12 months with EFTA Court.
In that mean time it not as likely for us to get bond issues taken by international investors for our sovereign debt that the government does need that roll over this year ( useless Red-Green governemnt coalition or national parliament or whatever colaition in power — this is a serious issue for our country this year+. )
With out this it does become more difficult for us to raise the idiot currency controls.
+https://www.icenews.is/index.php/2011/02/05/iceland-sends-eu-economic-forecast-document/ Read this report page 36 onward and that thead :
http://eng.efnahagsraduneyti.is/media/Acrobat/Pre-Accession-Economic-Programme-2011_Iceland.pdf
” With only seven percent in it and 40 percent of respondents refusing to take part, campaigners on both sides will surely pay little attention to this poll. ”
When this polls do get done here in Iceland close to time of vote with all those in poll asnwering usually it accurately reflects final out come.
What seem certain then is that turn out is going to be high — 90% did answer” very likely or rather likely ” they will turn up to vote according to this poll.
Well that is direct democracy in action and then people cant say they didnt endorse the decision like as if it is a vote in parliament– what ever result turns out to be.
>The dutch and the British have been offered that, but they didn’t want
Landsbanki assets will cover most of the debt and not immediately, meaning there is a financing cost. As Lee Buchheit said, it would be impossible for a UK politician to implement severe cuts in this country at the same time as neglecting to maximise the Icesave recovery.
It acctually means that a tiny little nation is setting an example of democracy and b@lls, in how not to let bankers get away with their crimes. If they want their money back and it is true that Landsbanki assets will cover all of the debt, well just take the assets and stop crying. According to Lee B. The dutch and the British have been offered that, but they didn’t want, so they are the ones that don’t want their money back.
“suppose that it’s always easier not to pay a big debt”
Refusing this Icesave deal doesn’t mean the debt won’t be paid back, it just means it will be paid back in less beneficial terms and without reference to Iceland or its affect to its economy.
Buying popcorn.
I suppose that it’s always easier not to pay a big debt if you think you can get away with it. Of course, when you take someone’s money and refuse to repay it, you cannot expect this to be without consequences.