Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir wrote an extensive article for the financial publication The Banker, wherein she talks about the lessons Iceland has learned from the financial crisis, and its road to recovery.
“We are leaving no stone unturned in investigating how our small nation found itself in such a dire situation, because social reconciliation is no less important than economic rehabilitation,” she writes in part, “My government is determined to take all necessary measures to prevent the reoccurrence of such a calamity and to do so we need to fully understand what happened.”
She talks furthermore about her goal of being able to balance Iceland’s budget by the year 2012, saying that the government has constructed a “stability pact” with labor and management, whereby all three parties work towards a more stable economy.
Not all of Iceland’s solutions are domestic, according to the prime minister. The European Union – the joining of which has long been a central tenet of her party, the Social Democrats, “is an integral part of achieving economic recovery and increased economic stability.” She believes that Iceland can contribute to the EU not only its tradition of gender equality, but also as a “gateway to the Arctic”.
As to be expected, the prime minister ends the piece on a positive note, saying in part, “We aim to build a more balanced and sustainable basis for the Icelandic economy and maintain our full participation in international activities. While the next two years will be very difficult for Iceland, we are on the right track towards recovery and the longer-term outlook is bright.”