REYKJAVIK – Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson resigned this week following disclosure that he had, at one time, secretly held millions of dollars’ worth of Icelandic bank bonds in an overseas account. Although Gunnlaugsson initially stated that he had no plans to resign, he was forced to reconsider when more than 90% of the Icelandic electorate – roughly 10 to 15 men and women – gathered in Parliament square to oppose his continued role in government.
Eyewitness accounts of the protest captured the passion underlying the scene. “It was absolutely insane,” protestor Alex Hindsson stated, “At first there were one or two men shuffling around, then forty-five minutes later there was a third, by noon there were about six to seven men, later in the afternoon a group of three women arrived, and then finally there were an astounding fifteen!” Hindsson’s colleague and fellow protester Geir Hjorleifsson added, “I’ve never seen that many people in one place before. It was complete pandemonium.”
Hindsson noted that he could tell things were going to get out of control when local fisherman Eior Haarde arrived at the square. As Hindsson explains, “Eior isn’t a very political guy. Nor is he particularly outgoing. He’s the kind of guy who treats a wonderful holiday like Gamlarskvold as if it were Fyrsti vetrarda. For him to show up, that’s really something.” Hjorleifsson was also thrilled to see such a diverse crowd. “At one point I thought I saw my old neighbor Sigriour Jonsdottir off in the distance!” Hjorleifson added excitedly, “but sadly it was just a large rock.”
The disgraced Prime Minister noted that he resigned, in part, because he feared that the massive crowd could turn violent. As put by Gunnlaugsson, “The thought of four to five people, maybe as many as six, upending Anita Guojohnsen’s herring stand is just too much to bear. I must leave.”
A successor has yet to be chosen to replace Gunnlaugsson. However, there are rumours that the the next Prime Minister will be chosen based on his or her ability to lift a heavy log.
