Words by

Lilja Rafney Magnúsdóttir

Photo by

Alþingi

Lilja Rafney Magnúsdóttir, MP, Left-Green Party

Nature was generous to Icelanders in 2014: the ocean provided, the land was fruitful and we were visited by an unprecedented amount of tourists. If we weren’t stuck with our godforsaken government, we would be doing well as a nation, overcoming the recession, strengthening our foundations and infrastructure and increasing general equality. We should have learned, from bitter experience, to steer clear of the policies that caused the collapse, we should have turned from the path of greed, inequality and the privatization of our shared resources.

We are instead being lead back to the slaughter at Mammon’s altar, having climbed right back on the very same carousel that we crashed in the collapse, with no end in sight.

At the beginning of the New Year, we as a nation must shake off our slumber and refuse to be seduced back into the swamp. We need to get rid of the cursed government as soon as possible—before it manages to lay even further waste to our welfare and educational systems, our society’s foundations—and instate one that places an emphasis on equality, justice and sustainability.

What I am calling for is a revolution, a revolution that begins in the heart and mind of every individual. Together, we can defeat the destructive course that’s embodied in the latest state budget, where heavy burdens are placed on the least fortunate of us, and the wealthy and powerful are pampered and subsidized.

We as a nation are at a crossroads. We have every opportunity to make a good life for every Icelander from Kópasker to Reykjavík; we can well afford to maintain great healthcare and educational systems, to and foster equality and to protect our nature. It’s in our hands.