Iceland: The president who said no gets record fifth term
Iceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson refused to sign legislation that would put taxpayers on the hook for $5 billion in banking losses. Yesterday, he won a record fifth term in office.
Iceland's president Olafur Grimsson and presidential candidate smiles as he waits for preliminary results of the presidential election in Reykjavik June 30. Iceland's president Grimsson looks set to win a record fifth term in office.
Ingolfur Juliusson/REUTERS
Reykjavik, Iceland
Iceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who wielded the political power of his traditionally ceremonial office and rejected a deal that would have put taxpayers on the hook for $5 billion to Britain and the Netherlands, has been re-elected to a fifth term.
The vote makes him the longest-serving president in Icelandic history. Heavily criticized after the financial crisis for cheerleading the overheated business sector, he earned back support from ordinary Icelanders and became a symbol of defiance by refusing to sign legislation that would have made taxpayers pay back British and Dutch deposits in a failed online bank.
The election Saturday hinged in large part on how politically active the president should be. Iceland is a parliamentary democracy in which the president has traditionally been seen as a figurehead. However, the president can refuse to sign into law bills passed by parliament, triggering a voter referendum. Grimsson was the first president to use that power.
