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AUDIO: Iceland’s president rejects austerity measures

Olafur Grimmson

Olafur Grimmson

The website for the CBC Radio program The Sunday Edition notes, “In the 2008 economic meltdown, Iceland nearly collapsed. Its three banks failed, it’s currency lost 50 per cent of its value and in an unprecedented display of anger, usually peaceful Icelanders took to the streets to protest. But Iceland defied the orthodox economic wisdom of the time—bailouts and slashing government services—and now is on the road to a recovery that the rest of Europe envies. The hero of the hour and the man almost solely responsible for this remarkable turnaround is the country’s president Olafur Grimmson. By refusing to go along with conventional thinking and by asking the people themselves what they wanted, he set a course for Iceland’s remarkable economic recovery. In this hour the president of Iceland, on democracy and the fearsome power of the marketplace.”

To listen to Michael Enright’s interview with President Grimmson, go to ‘Hour One’ at http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/.

To read more, see this Truth Out article at http://www.truth-out.org/why-iceland-should-be-news-not/1322327303.