A thought about VG

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I like to consider myself an environmentalist. So I was not especially happy to see VG do so poorly in the municipal elections (though of course most Icelanders think of them more as communist than environmentalist, I like to pretend they have the same idea as I do about the necessity to prioritize corporate responsibility over profitability).

So if I may be allowed to spin that poor showing a bit to the positive side, it occurs to me that perhaps the leadership of VG was too busy dealing with pressing national matters in the Althingi and ministries to really be of much help to their local party affiliates. They did not have, or did not take, the time to promote VG as a label in a way that could help in municipal elections. It is a small party, and it is trying to do an awful lot all at once.

Comments

Jon Frimann said…
Vinstri Grænir eru minna umhverfisflokkur en þeir segjast vera í raunveruleikanum.

Verkin tala að mínu mati, ekki endilega það sem fólk segir og lofar í svona kosningum.
May 30, 2010 at 12:46 PM
Lissy said…
Yeah, good points Jon. But I was trying to say something a little more analytical about the odd situation that VG finds itself in politically. I am not really very familiar with how this whole multiple party system works, so maybe it happens all the time that a small minority party fighting for recognition is simultaneously bearing half of the responsibility for governing a nation. From my perspective, that strikes me as two very different dances to do at once, and I am not surprised (nor disappointed) that VG decided to concentrate on the latter, rather than the former.
May 30, 2010 at 9:06 PM
Anonymous said…
Tja jú þeir eiga fullt af góðu náttúruverndarfólki, ekki allir innanborðs en slatti. Þau hafa reynt að standa gegn stóriðju til dæmis en svo sem ekki alveg auðvelt þegar samstarfsflokkurinn á iðnaðarráðuneytið og lofar endalaust upp í allar ermar, orku sem er ekki einu sinni til og þegar umhverfisráðherra ætlast til að reglum sé fylgt er ráðist á hana af þvílíku offorsi að ég hef sjaldan séð annað eins!

Vandamál VG er fyrst og fremst ósætti innanflokks og undirlægjuháttur sumra við stjórnarandstöðu...
May 30, 2010 at 9:34 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dett í, ofan á, úr, út

I´m not sure if someone had dett í (gotten drunk), or if það bara dett ofan á (it just sort of happened), or if some dett úr (forgot), but at any rate, my household goods dett út (have disappeared). Let's review the chronology here. Early August packers from the shipping company arrive at the apartment in Moraga. They load my 4 large plastic containers and 8 cardboard boxes, plus one baby crib, into their truck. I watch my things depart. In September, I ask the friendly girl (Magie is her name) if she happens to know when I might expect my stuff. Late September she tells me. I am most impressed. Extremely so. Mid October rolls around, and I have not gotten a call. And it occurs to me that I am going to be traveling through November. Hmm. So I call again. Well, yes, she tells me, looks like your shipment should arrive on the 31st of October. Now here I admit that maybe I was a little lacks. I had a lot to do before my trip, and so when they did not call me, I did not follow ...
Read more

On Icelandic doctors

My friends and family here in Iceland were very enthusiastic about me going to the krabbameinsfélag for an exam. I was really impressed how easy it was to get an appointment--booked online even! And when I got there this afternoon, the efficiency continued: they have a well oiled operation in place there, all very organized with computers asking questions and keyed lockers to keep one's personal belongings in. Then when it came time to see the doctor, well, that lasted all of 2 minutes. And I paid 3420 kroner. So I was overall a little disappointed. When I mentioned to the front desk clerks that I was wondering if it was possible to actually get an appointment where I could speak to a doctor, I was given a variety of phone numbers. None of the ones I called had appointments within the next 6 weeks. In the United States, when I want a doctor's appointment, I can usually get it within a week of calling, though sometimes I have had to wait 10 days or so. The highest co-pay I hav...
Read more

Cultural tourism in Iceland

I just finished writing a chapter of my dissertation, which resulted in a much larger discussion of cultural tourism in Iceland than I had intended. But the fact is, this is an issue I have been extremely interested and concerned about for at least 15 years, if not 20. I have never, ever liked the way Iceland is marketed to tourists in the U.S. Everything from the unspoiled nature to the crazy city life in Reykavik. It has always left the part of Iceland I loved--the simple joy of being in a relaxing and lovely place with my family--completely out of the picture. In 2001, I went to Hvollsvöllur to examine the Saga Centre as part of a study commissioned by the National Park's service to look into cultural landscapes as heritage tourism. I thought that endeavor might represent a change in how Iceland was presented to tourists. But in the last 10 years, and especially while working at Vikingaheimar, and at meetings with the Saga Trails Association, I came to see just how completel...
Read more