About 11,000 signatures have been gathered so far on an online petition calling for either parliament or the president to kill the new Icesave deal, but questions remain regarding who is behind the group responsible for the petition. The president, for his part, has said that he has taken no decision one way or the other on whether or not he will sign the deal into law.
As has been reported, the new Icesave deal between Iceland, the UK and Holland will soon be up for its third and final vote on the floor of parliament. The deal has considerably lower interest rates imposed on Iceland, as well as a lower tax burden. Having received the blessing of the Independence Party, the deal appears set for an easy passage.
However, a new organisation – calling itself Samstaða þjóðar gegn Icesave (United people against Icesave) – has started an online petition calling for either a parliamentary majority to vote against the deal, or for the president to veto it and refer it to national referendum.
There is no information about who comprises this group, or who is even in the leadership, on their official site. This has raised concerns in the Icelandic blogging community, as InDefence, the most active lobby against the previous Icesave deal, was shown late in the game to have ties to the Progressive Party.
RÚV reports that president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has said he has not yet even considered vetoing the law and referring it to public referendum, and will not make a decision on the matter until a final vote has been taken in parliament. He did say, however, that he feels the new deal is much better than the one previous.
UPDATE: The people behind the petition was revealed this afternoon. The group is comprised to a large degree by people from a group called Samtök Fullveldissinna (The Association of Sovereignty), a group that by its own platform statement believes in, among other things, privatisation and building up Iceland’s business sector, and is strongly opposed to any taxes paying the debts incurred by private institutions.
Related:
Icesave: The Backlash Begins
Icesave Enters Final Round
Conservatives Strongly Divided Over Icesave
Slim Majority Support Icesave Deal
New Icesave Deal Met With Optimism and Scepticism
New Icesave Deal Reached
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