Iceland Recovery – Rothko Play – Is Europe Over?
cbcradio, Sunday, December 11, 2011
Hour One
In the 2008 economic meltdown, Iceland nearly collapsed. Its three banks failed, it's currency lost 50 per cent of its value and in an unprecedented display of anger, usually peaceful Icelanders took to the streets to protest.
But Iceland defied the orthodox economic wisdom of the time—bailouts and slashing government services—and now is on the road to a recovery that the rest of Europe envies.
The hero of the hour and the man almost solely responsible for this remarkable turnaround is the country's president Olafur Grimmson.
By refusing to go along with conventional thinking and by asking the people themselves what they wanted, he set a course for Iceland's remarkable economic recovery.
See Also:
Chuck Spinney: Europe in Crisis Rule by Troika Spain and Hungary Next
Chuck Spinney: Financial Coups Destroying Europe
Iceland Charts Its Course with Integrity
Iceland Gets It Right: Say NO to Bank Bail-Outs
Mini-Me: Iceland Breaks the Back of Western Banking
