Author: Egill Helgason
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/a89931995777cc9.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The Presidency At A Crossroads
Iceland is one of the few nations in Europe that holds general elections to choose a president who is basically…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/3d940f2d217b9b4.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
A Time Of Confusion
In part I of this series, ‘Iceland and the rest of the world,’ I traced the history of Iceland from…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/6dfcd1c424d0b93.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Iceland And The Rest Of The World
For many centuries Iceland was a colony of Denmark. Due to its isolation, it was largely neglected until the nineteenth…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/9a8af74443ff9f51.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Harpa As A Symbol Of Iceland’s Recovery
Iceland was recently described as a success story of the economic crisis in a Financial Times article. Just free from…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/5a98726a7d8f19bb.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The Long Political Journey Of Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has decided—after insinuating in his New Year’s Address that he would not run and then dodging…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/858265b9331f3eb.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
AGENTS OF WORLD DOMINATION?
A Chinese gentleman wants to buy a big tract of land in the Northeast, and a central weakness of Icelandic…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/ed119742d2c6a44f.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
ZOMBIE POLITICS
The political debate in Iceland has gotten horribly stale and repetitive. In some places Iceland is held up as being…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/5b89286cae23cf3b.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
A VIEW FROM THE CHURCH TOWER
A few weeks ago I was wandering around Skóla-vörðu-holt where Hallgrímskirkja—the large church dedicated to the poet and psalmist Hallgrímur…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/dee0ae4639ae5166.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
THE TRAGIC STORY OF SÆVAR CIESIELSKI
Sævar Ciesielski died in Copenhagen on July 13, of accidental causes. He was nothing less than Iceland’s most famous felon….
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/8c6fecc05c22e3bb.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Will 101 Reykjavík Ever Reclaim Its River?
Lækjargata is one of the main streets of downtown Reykjavík, lying alongside Reykjavík’s pond, Tjörnin, through the centre of town…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/14fdc29421fd6cd.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
A Beautiful, Mysterious Garden
When I was a boy I lived close to the Old Cemetery (“Gamli kirkjugarðurinn”), which is just up the hill…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/9cecdaa5f1b2a7.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
THE PEN WIELDER, THE POET AND THE ROGUE
On June 17, Jón Sigurðsson will be the man of the day. This is Iceland’s ‘Independence Day’ with festivities all…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/7f29af4ce4d2ea5c.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
A CIVIL (COD) WAR?
Many people find the subject impossibly boring, but it is always simmering under the surface of Icelandic society. Many do…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/6e3d30dd4291238.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
THE MASTER BUILDER, THE MINISTER AND THE CHURCH WE USED TO THINK WAS UGLY
The idea of building a church on the hill called Skólavörðuholt was first broached as early as 1916. Architect Guðjón…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/15a71e82597cb3c3.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The Troubled History Of The Harp
For many centuries Iceland was a country without music. There were no musical instruments; dancing was banned by the church,…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/7adab84cdfd931.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
CRIME, CRISES AND NORDIC DEPRESSION
The local literary scene is now in the throes of the Nordic crime novel. Admittedly the ancient Icelandic sagas tell…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/79544786fa269eee.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The Amazing Political Acrobat
For many generations of Icelanders there hasn’t been a time when Iceland’s president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, wasn’t around in some…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/387aa2bc1ff96417.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Another Year Has Passed: Where Are We Now?
In October 2008, on the eve of the economic crash, then Prime Minister Geir Haarde appeared on television and gave…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/e889f86ce3ba173e.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Low Voter Turnout, Mixed Messages
On November 27, Icelanders partook in an unprecedented election when the nation voted representatives for a Constitutional Assembly that will…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/e8326f76c453b0cb.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Adieu Eva Joly
Eva Joly shocked some of her admirers in Iceland when she said a few weeks ago that Iceland should join…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/6c56c2bf4e3b932a.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The Failure Of Icelandic Politics
Here is a famous quote by Harold Wilson: “A week is a long time in politics”. At the time of…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/96666cefb43f6370.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Iceland Two Years After the Crash
Iceland has gone through several phases since the crash of October 2008, when the country’s banking system collapsed in the…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/57d5fb6f7c19102b.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Sitting Here in Limbo
The political situation in Iceland, now that autumn will soon be upon us, can best be described as a sort…
Hello, Is Anybody Out There?
Later this June—this autumn at the latest—Iceland is set to become a full candidate for membership of the European Union….
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/3a53fa246744960.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Joke Party Wins Elections in Reykjavík
In the weeks leading up to the municipal elections, it seemed no one was interested. The media took almost no…