2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests

Icelandic protest movement October 2020 thumb|right|300px|Some of the 6000 protesters in front of the Alþingishús, seat of the Icelandic parliament, on 15 November 2008 The Kitchenware, Kitchen Implement or Pots and Pans Revolutionhttp://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/apr2009/gb20090427_605075.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+page_top+stories https://web.archive.org/web/20130723015627/http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/apr2009/gb20090427_605075.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+page_top+stories dead 23 July 2013 Bloomberg Business Week Iceland Turns Left and Edges Toward EU Leigh Phillips 27 April 2009 20 October 2011Magnússon, Sigurdur: Wasteland With Words, 2010. Reaktion Books, London. p. 265. (Icelandic: Búsáhaldabyltingin) was a series of protests that erupted in Iceland in 2009 in response to the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis. There had been regular and growing protests since October 2008 against the Government of Iceland's handling of the 2008 financial crisis. The protests intensified on 20 January 2009 with thousands of people protesting at the parliament (Althing) in Reykjavík.https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h-RUl6zdfvvmIjYqtmrqj2ROGbXgD95QU1DG0 Icelandic lawmakers return to work amid protests Gunnarsson Valur 21 January 2009 Associated Press 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090131185044/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h-RUl6zdfvvmIjYqtmrqj2ROGbXgD95QU1DG0 31 January 2009 deadhttps://www.reuters.com/article/rbssBanks/idUSLK69268520090120 Iceland protesters demand government step down 20 January 2009 Reuters 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090203154726/https://www.reuters.com/article/rbssBanks/idUSLK69268520090120 3 February 2009 livehttps://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gHkIlEVsda4i3WimogStwsmm2wrgD95S6Q3O0 Icelandic police tear gas protesters Valur Gunnarsson Jill Lawless 22 January 2009 Associated Press 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090131184619/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gHkIlEVsda4i3WimogStwsmm2wrgD95S6Q3O0 31 January 2009 dead These were at the time the largest protests in Icelandic history.Önnudóttir Eva H. 2016-12-19 The "Pots and Pans" protests and requirements for responsiveness of the authorities http://www.irpa.is/article/view/a.2016.12.2.1 Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration en 12 2 195–214 10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.1 1670-679X free 20.500.11815/230 free 6 August 2019 19 December 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20190806120018/http://www.irpa.is/article/view/a.2016.12.2.1 dead Protesters were calling for the resignation of government officials and for new elections to be held.http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/01/22/opposition-attempt-to-call-iceland-elections-bypassing-pm/ Opposition attempts to call Iceland elections, bypassing PM 22 January 2009 icenews.is 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090124012239/http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/01/22/opposition-attempt-to-call-iceland-elections-bypassing-pm/ 24 January 2009 live The protests stopped for the most part with the resignation of the old government led by the right-wing Independence Party.http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/01/26/iceland.government/index.html Icelandic government falls; asked to stay on Nyberg Per 26 January 2009 31 January 2009 CNN https://web.archive.org/web/20090129154537/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/01/26/iceland.government/index.html 29 January 2009 live A new left-wing government was formed after elections in late April 2009. It was supportive of the protestors and initiated a reform process that included the judicial prosecution before the Landsdómur of former Prime Minister Geir Haarde. Several referendums were held to ask the citizens about whether to pay the Icesave debt of their banks. From a complex and unique process, 25 common people, of no political party, were to be elected to form an Icelandic Constitutional Assembly that would write a new Constitution of Iceland. After some legal problems, a Constitutional Council, which included those people, presented a Constitution Draft to the Iceland Parliament on 29 July 2011.https://www.stjornlagarad.is/english/ Stjórnlagaráð 2011 – English Stjornlagarad.is 29 July 2011 18 October 2011 Chronology 2008–2009: Protests and government change thumb|left|Hörður Torfason at the second weekly protest, on 18 October 2008 Concerned with the state of the Icelandic economy, Hörður Torfason staged a one-man protest in October 2008. Hörður stood "out on Austurvöllur with an open microphone and invited people to speak".https://icelandweatherreport.com/we-need-far-more-radical-changes/ We need far more radical changes Alda 4 February 2009 28 November 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20200929201012/http://icelandweatherreport.com/we-need-far-more-radical-changes/ 29 September 2020 usurped 31 March 2009. The following Saturday a more organised demonstration occurred, and participants established the Raddir fólksins. The group decided to stage a rally every Saturday until the government stepped down. Hörður led the protest from a stage near the front.Iceland has an unlikely new hero https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/01/iceland Henley, John 1 December 2008 The Guardian UK 31 March 2009 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090203160545/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/01/iceland 3 February 2009 31 March 2009.https://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2008/11/22/afx5730408.html Icelanders demand PM resignation, clash with police Thomson Financial News 22 November 2008 31 March 2009 dead https://archive.today/20090331214013/http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2008/11/22/afx5730408.html 31 March 2009 31 March 2009. Speakers, voices of the people (Icelandic: Raddir fólksins) were: Andri Snær Magnason, author; Arndís Björnsdóttir, teacher; Björn Þorsteinsson, philosopher; Dagný Dimmblá, student; Einar Már Guðmundsson, writer; Gerður Kristný, writer; Gerður Pálmadóttir, business woman; Guðmundur Gunnarsson, president of Writers' Union of Iceland (RSÍ); Halldóra Guðrún Ísleifsdóttir, teacher, artist, and graphic designer; Hörður Torfason, musician and trubator; Illugi Jökulsson, author; Jón Hreiðar Erlendsson; Katrín Oddsdóttir, lawyer; Kristín Helga Gunnarsdóttir, author; Kristín Tómasdóttir, health consultant; Lárus Páll Birgisson, orderly; Lilja Mósesdóttir, economist; Pétur Tyrfingsson, psychologist; Ragnheiður Gestsdóttir, author; Ragnhildur Sigurðardóttir, historian; Sigurbjörg Árnadóttir, journalist; Sindri Viðarsson, historian; Stefán Jónsson, teacher and theatre director; Viðar Þorsteinsson, philosopher; Þorvaldur Gylfason, economist; Þráinn Bertelsson, author. Formal address by Ernesto Ordiss, and Óskar Ástþórsson, kindergarten teacher. Impromptu speakers were Birgir Þórarinsson, Sturla Jónsson, and Kolfinna Baldvinsdóttir.http://raddirfolksins.info/?p=113 Raddir Fólksins » Ávörp og ræður raddirfolksins.info 2018-10-07 The protests were a feature of the traditional New Year's Eve comedy revue, Áramótaskaupið, in 2008. The sketches included one of Jón Gnarr playing a strait-laced middle-aged protester struggling to express his indignation at the crisis and eventually coming up with a sign reading Helvítis fokking fokk!! This phrase soon came to be used in real-life placards and wider discourses surrounding the protests.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik66THWLlM4 https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/Ik66THWLlM4 2021-12-15 live Jón Gnarr – Helvítis Fokking Fokk ! 1 January 2009 YouTubehttps://www.visir.is/helvitis-fokking-fokk-a-forsidu-hrunsins/article/2009112316069 Helvítis fokking fokk á forsíðu Hrunsins 5 June 2009 visir.isLokaverkefni: "Ekta upplifun? : Orðin ekta og gervi skoðuð með tilliti til mannsins" eftir Auður Inez Sellgren 1990 [2014] – Skemman 1946/22190 December 2014 Thesis Sellgren Auður Inez On 20 January 2009, the protests intensified into riots. Between 1,000 and 2,000 people clashed with riot police, who used pepper spray and batons, around the building of the parliament (Althing), with at least 20 people being arrested and 20 more needing medical attention for exposure to pepper spray.http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/6142952/Icelands-capital-rocked-by-protests Iceland's capital rocked by protests 20 January 2009 Radio Netherlands Worldwide 22 January 2009 https://archive.today/20090123202903/http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/6142952/Icelands-capital-rocked-by-protests 23 January 2009 dead Demonstrators banged pots and honked horns to disrupt the year's first meeting of Prime Minister Geir Haarde and the Althing. Some broke windows of the parliament house, threw skyr and snowballs at the building, and threw smoke bombs into its backyard.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7842172.stm Icelanders held over angry demo 21 January 2009 BBC 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090124123504/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7842172.stm 24 January 2009 live The use of pots and pans saw the local press refer to the event as the "Kitchenware Revolution".Ian Parker, Letter from Reykjavík, "Lost," The New Yorker, 9 March 2009, p. 39. On 21 January 2009, the protests continued in Reykjavík, where the Prime Minister's car was pelted with snowballs, eggs and cans by demonstrators demanding his resignation.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/iceland/4308669/Protesters-pelt-car-of-Icelandic-prime-minister.html Protesters pelt car of Icelandic prime minister Waterfield Bruno 21 January 2009 The Telegraph UK 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090123145657/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/iceland/4308669/Protesters-pelt-car-of-Icelandic-prime-minister.html 23 January 2009 livehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7843327.stm Protesters pelt Iceland PM's car 21 January 2009 BBC 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090122110810/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7843327.stm 22 January 2009 livehttps://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE50L0I120090122 Iceland protests grow, premier vows to stay on Omar R. Valdimarsson Patrick Lannin Victoria Klesty Wojciech Moskwa Niklas Pollard Matthew Jones 21 January 2009 Reuters 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090122093426/https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE50L0I120090122 22 January 2009 live Government buildings were surrounded by a crowd of at least 3,000 people, pelting them with paint and eggs, and the crowd then moved towards the Althing where one demonstrator climbed the walls and put up a sign that read "Treason due to recklessness is still treason." No arrests were reported. On 22 January 2009, police used tear gas to disperse people on Austurvöllur (the square in front of the Althing), the first such use since the 1949 anti-NATO protest.http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/2009/01/22/taragasi_beitt_a_austurvelli/ Táragasi beitt á Austurvelli 22 January 2009 mbl.is is 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090122195741/http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/2009/01/22/taragasi_beitt_a_austurvelli/ 22 January 2009 liveValur Gunnarsson Jill Lawless UN: Myanmar, China pushed high 2008 disaster toll 22 January 2009 Associated Press https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqQtTiuZiZJ57H7j-OUQfQQQJufgD95S8DGO0 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090131180620/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqQtTiuZiZJ57H7j-OUQfQQQJufgD95S8DGO0 31 January 2009 dead Around 2,000 protesters had surrounded the building since the day before and they hurled fireworks, shoes, toilet paper, rocks, and paving stones at the building and its police guard. Reykjavík police chief Stefán Eiríksson said that they tried to disperse a "hard core" of a "few hundred" with pepper spray before using the tear gas. Stefán also commented that the protests were expected to continue, and that this represented a new situation for Iceland. Despite the announcement on 23 January 2009 of early Parliamentary elections (to be held on 25 April 2009) and the announcement of Prime Minister Geir Haarde that he was withdrawing from politics due to esophageal cancer and would not be a candidate in those elections, protesters continued to fill the streets, calling for a new political scene and for immediate elections;http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2009/01/24/europe/OUKWD-UK-ICELAND.php Protesters demand Iceland government quits now Kim McLaughlin International Herald Tribune 24 January 2009 31 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090202061014/http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2009/01/24/europe/OUKWD-UK-ICELAND.php 2 February 2009 live Haarde (Independence Party) announced on 26 January 2009 that he would hand in his resignation as PM shortly, after talks with the Social Democratic Alliance on keeping the government intact had failed earlier the same day.https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=avntV39aM_7I&refer=europe Iceland's Ruling Coalition Splits Following Protests Helga Kristin Einarsdottir Bloomberg 26 January 2009 31 January 2009 The Social Democratic Alliance formed a new government on a minority coalition with the Left-Green Movement, with the support of the Progressive Party and the Liberal Party, which was sworn in on 1 February. http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/01/27/new-icelandic-government-being-negotiated/ New Iceland government under negotiation IceNews 27 January 2009 17 October 2011 27 October 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121027135210/http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/01/27/new-icelandic-government-being-negotiated/ dead http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/01/31/no-new-icelandic-government-this-weekend/ No new Icelandic government this weekend IceNews 31 January 2009 17 October 2011 13 May 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120513120959/http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/01/31/no-new-icelandic-government-this-weekend/ dead Former Social Affairs Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became prime minister. The three parties also agree to convene a constitutional assembly to discuss changes to the Constitution. http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_id=319192 Iceland to Convene Constitutional Parliament Iceland Review 30 January 2009 17 October 2011 23 February 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090223214139/http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_id=319192 dead There was no agreement on the question of an early referendum on prospective EU and euro membership. http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=319006 Iceland's Social Democrats Want a Vote on EU in May Iceland Review 27 January 2009 17 October 2011 17 February 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120217171753/http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=319006 dead The parliamentary election was held in Iceland on 25 April 2009http://ruv.is/heim/frettir/frett/store64/item247505/ Kosningar 9. maí og Geir hættir RÚV 23 January 2009 17 October 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110809015308/http://www.ruv.is/heim/frettir/frett/store64/item247505 9 August 2011 . is following strong pressure from the public due to the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7847317.stm Iceland announces early election BBC News 23 January 2009 17 October 2011 The Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement, which formed the outgoing coalition government under Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, both made gains and an overall majority of seats in the Althing (Iceland's parliament). The Progressive Party also made gains, and the new Citizens' Movement, formed after the January 2009 protests, gained four seats. The big loser was the Independence Party, which had been in power for 18 years until January 2009: it lost a third of its support and nine seats in the Althing. 2009–2010: Citizen forums and constitutional changing Icelandic constitutional reform, 2010–13 Taking its cue from nationwide protests and lobbying efforts by civil organisations, the new governing parties decided that Iceland's citizens should be involved in creating a new constitution and started to debate a bill on 4 November 2009 about that purpose. Parallel to the protests and parliament deliverance, citizens started to unite in grassroots-based think-tanks. A National Forum was organised on 14 November 2009 (Icelandic: Þjóðfundur 2009), in the form of an assembly of Icelandic citizens at the Laugardalshöll in Reykjavík, by a group of grassroots citizen movements such as Anthill. The Forum would settle the ground for the 2011 Constitutional Assembly and was streamed via the Internet to the public. Fifteen hundred people were invited to participate in the assembly; of these, 1,200 were chosen at random from the national registry, while 300 were representatives of companies, institutions and other groups. Participants represented a cross section of Icelandic society, ranging in age from 18 to 88 and spanning all six constituencies of Iceland, with 73, 77, 89, 365 and 621 people attending from the Northwest, Northeast, South, Southwest and Reykjavík (combined), respectively; 47% of the attendants were women, while 53% were men. On 16 June 2010 the Constitutional Act was accepted by parliament and a new Forum was summoned.Act on a Constitutional Assembly http://www.thjodfundur2010.is/other_files/2010/doc/Act-on-a-Constitutional-Assembly.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20220528134441/http://www.thjodfundur2010.is/other_files/2010/doc/Act-on-a-Constitutional-Assembly.pdf 28 May 2022 16 June 2010 livehttp://www.thjodfundur2010.is/frettir/lesa/item32858/ Þjóðfundur 2010 – Fréttir – The main conclusions from the National Forum 2010 Thjodfundur2010.is 18 October 2011 29 September 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180929214108/http://thjodfundur2010.is/frettir/lesa/item32858/ dead The Constitutional Act prescribed that the participants of the Forum had to be randomly sampled from the National Population Register, "with due regard to a reasonable distribution of participants across the country and an equal division between genders, to the extent possible".Act on a Constitutional Assembly, Interim Provision The National Forum 2010 was initiated by the government on 6 November 2010 and had 950 random participants, organized in subcommisions, which would present a 700-page document that would be the basis for constitutional changes, which would debate a future Constitutional Assembly. The Forum 2010 came into being due to the efforts of both governing parties and the Anthill group. A seven-headed Constitutional Committee, appointed by the parliament, was charged with the supervision of the forum and the presentation of its results, while the organization and facilitation of the National Forum 2010 was done by the Anthill group that had organized the first Forum 2009. 2010–2011: Constitutional Assembly and Council The process continued in the election of 25 people of no political affiliation on 27 November 2010. The Supreme Court of Iceland later invalidated the results of the election on 25 January 2011 following complaints about several faults in how the election was conducted,http://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2011/01/25/stjornlagathingskosning_ogild/?ref=fphelst Kosning til stjórnlagaþings ógild mbl.ishttp://www.haestirettur.is/control/index?pid=1109 Hæstiréttur Íslands haestirettur.is dead https://web.archive.org/web/20160122172804/http://www.haestirettur.is/control/index?pid=1109 22 January 2016 but the Parliament decided that it was the way, and not the elects, that had been questioned, and also that those 25 elects would be a part of a Constitutional Council and thus the Constitutional change went on.http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/Constitutional_Assembly_Elects_Appointed_to_Council_0_374415.news.aspx Constitutional Assembly Elects Appointed to Council – Iceland Review O Icelandreview.com 18 October 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110228165632/http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/Constitutional_Assembly_Elects_Appointed_to_Council_0_374415.news.aspx 28 February 2011 dead On 29 July 2011 the draft was presented to the Parliament. 2012: Referendum on the new constitution After the draft of the Constitution was presented on 29 July 2011, the Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, finally agreed in a vote on 24 May 2012, with 35 in favor and 15 against, to organize an advisory referendum on the Constitutional Council's proposal for a new constitution no later than 20 October 2012. The only opposing parliament members were the former governing right party, the Independence Party. Also a proposed referendum on discontinuing the accession talks with the European Union by some parliamentaries of the governing left coalition was rejected, with 34 votes against and 25 in favour.http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/Referendum_to_Be_Held_on_Icelandic_Constitution_0_390328.news.aspx Referendum to Be Held on Icelandic Constitution Iceland Review 5 June 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120618061332/http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/Referendum_to_Be_Held_on_Icelandic_Constitution_0_390328.news.aspx 18 June 2012 dead Banking debt referendums There were several referendums to decide about the Icesave Icelandic bank debts. The first Icesave referendum (Icelandic: Þjóðaratkvæðagreiðsla um Icesave), was held on 6 March 2010.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8467936.stm Icesave referendum set for 6 March 19 January 2010 19 January 2010 BBC News https://web.archive.org/web/20100121032416/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8467936.stm 21 January 2010 live The referendum was resoundingly defeated, with 93% voting against and less than 2% in favor. After the referendum, new negotiations commenced. On 16 February 2011 the Icelandic parliament agreed to a repayment deal to pay back the full amount starting in 2016, finalising before 2046, with a fixed interest rate of 3%.IJslandse parlement stemt in met Icesave-deal nu.nl, 16 February 2011 The Icelandic president once again refused to sign the new deal on 20 February, calling for a new referendum.Iceland president triggers referendum on Icesave repayments by Julia Kollewe, The Guardian 20 February 2011President IJsland tekent Icesave-akkoord niet nu.nl, 20 February 2011 Thus, a second referendum was held on 9 April 2011 also resulting in "no" victory with a lesser percentage.http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/uk/news/article_1622043.php/Iceland-to-hold-April-referendum-on-overseas-bank-compensation-plan Iceland to hold April referendum on overseas bank compensation plan Monsters and Critics 25 February 2011 12 April 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110227092618/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/uk/news/article_1622043.php/Iceland-to-hold-April-referendum-on-overseas-bank-compensation-plan 27 February 2011 dead After the referendum failed to pass, the British and Dutch governments said that they would take the case to the European courts.http://news.ph.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4770184 Iceland government says not threatened by referendum defeat MSN 11 April 2011 11 April 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20200404150347/http://www.msn.com/en-ph/news?cp-documentid=4770184 4 April 2020 dead PM trial The Althing (Iceland's parliament) voted 33–30 to indict the former Prime Minister Geir Haarde, but not the other ministers, on charges of negligence in office at a session on 28 September 2010. Iceland's Former PM Taken to Court http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_id=368276 Iceland Review Online 28 September 2010 28 September 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110325065640/http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_id=368276 25 March 2011 dead He would stand trial before the Landsdómur, a special court to hear cases alleging misconduct in government office: it will be the first time the Landsdómur has convened since it was established in the 1905 Constitution.Islands tidligere statsminister stilles for riksrett http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/article3831879.ece Aftenposten NTB Oslo, Norway no 28 September 2010 28 September 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101001222900/http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/article3831879.ece 1 October 2010 dead The trial began in Reykjavík on 5 March 2012.Trial of Iceland ex-PM Haarde over 2008 crisis begins, BBC News, 5 March 2012 Geir Haarde was found guilty on one of four charges on 23 April 2012, for not holding cabinet meetings on important state matters.National Public RadioMay 2019 InternetArchiveBot yes 23 April 2012 (Broken link) Landsdómur said Haarde would face no punishment, as this was a minor offence and the Icelandic State was ordered to pay all his legal expenses.Iceland ex-PM Haarde 'partly' guilty over 2008 crisis, BBC News, 23 April 2012 Haarde decided, as a matter of principle, to refer the whole case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg where it was eventually dismissed.http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-178700 HUDOC – European Court of Human Rights Commentary Roger Boyes of The Times argued the protests were part of a "new age of rebellion and riot" in Europe, in the background of similar protests caused by the financial crisis in Latvia, Bulgaria and the civil unrest in Greece, triggered by the police killing a teenager, but with deeper roots related to the financial crisis.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5563020.ece New age of rebellion and riot stalks Europe Boyes Roger 22 January 2009 The Times London 22 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090227034720/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5563020.ece 27 February 2009 dead London School of Economics professor Robert Wade said that Iceland's government would fall within the coming days and Fredrik Erixon of the Brussels-based European Centre for International Political Economy compared the current situation with the French Revolution of 1789.https://ottawacitizen.com/European+leaders+fear+civil+unrest+over+economic+woes/1210245/story.html European leaders fear civil unrest over economic woes Ottawa Citizen Peter O'neil 23 January 2009 31 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090131205025/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/European%2Bleaders%2Bfear%2Bcivil%2Bunrest%2Bover%2Beconomic%2Bwoes/1210245/story.html 31 January 2009 dead Eirikur Bergmann, an Icelandic political scientist, wrote in The Guardian that "While Barack Obama was being sworn into office on Capitol Hill yesterday, the people of Iceland were starting the first revolution in the history of the republic. The word "revolution" might sound a bit of an overstatement, but given the calm temperament that usually prevails in Icelandic politics, the unfolding events represent, at the very least, a revolution in political activism."https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jan/21/iceland-globalrecession The heat is on – Iceland's government is on the point of collapse as angry protesters stake out the parliament in Reykjavík Eirikur Bergmann The Guardian UK 21 January 2009 31 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090124035540/http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/21/iceland-globalrecession 24 January 2009 live Valur Gunnarsson, also of The Guardian, wrote that Iceland's government was scrambling to avoid becoming the first administration to be ousted by the 2008 financial crisis. He also wrote that "The protesters have begun referring to their daily attempt to oust the government as a 'saucepan revolution', because of the noise-inducing pots and pans brought along to the protests."https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/22/iceland-protests-recession Iceland's coalition struggles to survive protests Valur Gunnarsson The Guardian UK 22 January 2009 31 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090125003134/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/22/iceland-protests-recession 25 January 2009 live Eva Heiða Önnudóttir studied the demography of the protesters to see whether participants in the Austurvöllur protests came from groups with greater histories of political participation and greater access to political resources than non-participants, but found that this was not a determining factor: rather, participants were simply more likely to have a direct personal incentive to protest.Eva Heiða Önnudóttir "Búsáhaldabyltingin: Pólitískt jafnræði og þátttaka almennings í mótmælum – Rannsóknir í félagsvindum: Stjórnmálafræðideild", 12 2011 36–44 http://skemman.is/en/stream/get/1946/10251/25562/3/Rannsoknir_%C3%AD_felagsvisindum_XII_Stjornmalafr%C3%A6dideild.pdf 3 September 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201134/http://skemman.is/en/stream/get/1946/10251/25562/3/Rannsoknir_%C3%AD_felagsvisindum_XII_Stjornmalafr%C3%A6dideild.pdf 4 March 2016 dead Timothy Heffernan, an anthropologist studying Iceland's social and political recovery, examined the protracted journey from the initial drafting of the new constitution to its ultimate shelving by the newly elected government in 2013, noting:Following a tight election campaign, a Left-Right coalition government was formed between the Left-Green progressives and the conservative Independence Party. A decade after first being introduced as a means for social and democratic reform, the constitution remains no closer to being legislated, as the incumbent coalition has not signaled any intention of implementing it—despite survey results at the time of the 2017 election suggesting that more than 55 percent of Icelanders were in support of changing the constitution.Reykjavik Grapevine 2017 Most Icelanders want a new constitution https://grapevine.is/news/2017/09/29/most-icelanders-want-a-new-constitution/ live 1 October 2017 The nation’s new draft document, therefore, represents a point of great contention between supporters and detractors, with the permanent shelving of the constitution ultimately reigniting debate over the credibility of the decision-making class in Iceland. At a time when political leaders are confronted by a “double crisis” of attending to constituents’ concerns and responding to global processes,Yuval-Davis Nira 2012 The double crisis of governability and governmentality http://openurl.ingenta.com/content/xref?genre=article&issn=1362-6620&volume=52&issue=52&spage=88 Soundings en 52 52 88–99 10.3898/136266212803853635 subscription legislating the new document has become a political hot potato in the context of a protracted economic crisis which has now morphed into a social and political one.Heffernan Timothy 2020 'Where Is the New Constitution?': Public Protest and Community-Building in Post–Economic Collapse Iceland https://doi.org/10.3167/arcs.2020.060114 Conflict and Society 6 1 236–254 Writing in the wake of the 2013 Icelandic parliamentary election, which returned to power the parties most closely associated with Iceland's banking boom, Gísli Pálsson and E. Paul Durrenberger concluded that While the grassroots movement that overthrew the government after the crash remains disillusioned and disappointed, its impact should not be under-estimated. One important development in its wake, and an important emerging theme for further research, is a series of experiments with direct democracy and social media. Soon after the crash, a crowd-sourcing company drew upon social media to prepare for a National Meeting (Þjóðfundur) of 1,000 participants for outlining a new constitution. While the end result of this work remains unclear, and much depends on the formal, indirect democracy of the Parliament, it seems safe to say that the public has been sensitized to new avenues for democracy and alerted to potential signs of corruption.Gísli Pálsson and E. Paul Durrenberger, "Introduction: The Banality of Financial Evil", in Gambling Debt: Iceland's Rise and Fall in the Global Economy, ed. by E. Paul Durrenberger and Gisli Palsson (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2015), pp. xiii—xxix (p. xxvii). See also Society 22em 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis 2009 Iranian presidential election protests 2010–2011 Greek protests 15 October 2011 global protests 2011 Chilean protests 2011 Israeli social justice protests Spanish 15M Indignants movement 2011 United Kingdom anti-austerity protests 2012 Quebec student protests Anarchism in Iceland Arab Spring Impact of the Arab Spring "Occupy" protests Occupy Wall Street Protests of 1968 References External links What is actually going on in Iceland, 29 December 2012 by Baldur Bjarnason Financial crisis protests Category:2009 protests Category:2009 riots Category:2011 in international relations Category:Protests in Iceland Category:Riots and civil disorder in Iceland Iceland