Kristrún says government is fixing Iceland

Iceland’s government is delivering on its promise to “fix Iceland”, Prime Minister and Social Democratic Alliance leader Kristrún Frostadóttir said at the party’s executive board conference on Saturday, according to mbl.is.

“In national affairs, we have taken responsibility for Iceland,” she said. “In turbulent times internationally and amid economic uncertainty at home, it is the Social Democratic Alliance, together with our steadfast coalition partners, that is looking after Iceland.”

Frostadóttir said the government had helped secure labour peace and that agreements were holding despite rising oil prices from abroad. If all parties met their commitments, she said, the agreements could mark a turning point in the fight against inflation.

She said the government would not abandon its commitment to balanced budgets and that the state would no longer be run on overdrafts. She accused opposition parties of calling for a return to economic mismanagement by demanding higher spending and lower taxes while opposing difficult efficiency measures. “We are putting public finances in order,” she said.

Frostadóttir said Iceland was working closely with allied countries and partners to protect its interests. The result of the referendum against resuming talks on EU membership would be respected, she said, but Iceland would not turn its back on Europe or undermine the European Economic Area agreement. The government’s policy, she added, was to strengthen the agreement.

She said relations with the United States and Canada would be strengthened, and that she had held positive talks and meetings in recent weeks with US government representatives, the US president and the secretary of state. Iceland would also deepen ties with the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

Frostadóttir said international cooperation mattered, but that the government’s main focus was on domestic issues. She listed measures undertaken during the Social Democratic Alliance’s two years in government, including establishing an infrastructure company, completing a transport plan and adopting Iceland’s first industrial policy. She also cited reductions in the number of government agencies, simpler regulations, greater control over immigration, a halt to rising housing prices, adjusted fishing fees and the fact that no child was waiting for a place at a government-run treatment centre.

She said the government would now pursue measures to secure labour peace, including fines for wage theft, a more predictable system for child benefits, a rent brake, more public housing and a bill to reduce the role of indexation.

“This is a different approach to what has been customary in connection with wage agreements: targeted measures, fully in line with economic objectives, the government’s policy statement and its legislative programme,” she said.