Sigmundur Davíð urges Icelanders to defend their sovereignty

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson says Icelanders must reject giving control over their affairs to a foreign institution and defend national sovereignty. In an opinion article published by mbl.is, the former prime minister argues that voters should go to the polls and say no.

Icelanders disagree on many issues, he writes, but still see themselves as one nation, group and family that stands together when necessary.

Gunnlaugsson says he did not expect Icelanders, only a few years after achieving major victories against overwhelming odds on the basis of their sovereignty rights, to become divided over whether to hand to a foreign institution powers that had served them well.

He argues that this would mean allowing European Union officials to exercise powers that Icelanders had fought for over centuries. He also criticises the European Union for making decisions against Iceland’s interests when the stakes were highest, in matters where Iceland’s sovereignty ultimately secured victory.

The greatest disappointment of his years in politics, he writes, has been how difficult it can be to learn from experience. Too much political energy and time is spent defending what has already proved valuable and effective, rather than building on experience and using Iceland’s opportunities.

Mistakes are natural and unavoidable, Gunnlaugsson says, but the ability to learn from them is what matters most. Predictable mistakes, however, are unacceptable, particularly when the facts are known and sensible people can foresee the consequences.

In most cases, he writes, Icelanders can try to correct mistakes because they control their own affairs. Voters can change course and replace those who have not performed well with people they believe are more likely to succeed.

That, he says, is the result of sovereignty and democracy, which are inseparable. Sovereignty rests on the belief that nations should govern themselves and that the citizens of a nation should decide its affairs.

Gunnlaugsson asks whether some people have lost that belief or begun to doubt sovereignty and democracy.

Such a system is not inevitable, he writes, and has been the exception in human history. Yet a very poor nation of fewer than 100,000 people in a harsh country believed it should become independent and govern itself, at a time when most nations were ruled by a few great powers and their systems of authority.

Many argued that Iceland’s independence was completely unrealistic and that the country would be better off as a dependent state under a larger country and an experienced government capable of making decisions for Icelanders.

Gunnlaugsson says it is surprising that such views have re-emerged after faith in sovereignty helped independent Iceland reach a leading position internationally. He considers the doubts even stranger in light of recent years, when sovereignty allowed Iceland to achieve major victories and make decisions based on its own circumstances, while the European Union moved from one crisis to another and now faces a downward spiral.

Icelanders should nevertheless be glad to have the opportunity to help defend sovereignty and pass it on to future generations, he writes. They do not need to endure anything like what their predecessors faced. They only need to go to the polls and say no.