Former MP calls government most powerful force in referendum

Former Viðreisn deputy MP Sigríður María Egilsdóttir says the government itself was the most powerful force in the recent referendum on EU accession negotiations, mbl.is reports. She was a prominent figure in the Áfram Ísland campaign before the vote.

Egilsdóttir said she was pleased with the result after voting no and seeing that position prevail. However, she said she did not interpret the outcome as one half of the nation defeating the other.

“The margin was narrow, and almost half the nation voted the other way. That half has just as much stake in the future as those of us who voted no,” she said.

In her view, the message from voters was nevertheless clear. “The nation believes that Iceland can solve its own problems itself, and wants our politics to live up to that demand. That is the task that begins now, and I consider it a task for all of us together.”

Egilsdóttir strongly criticised the government’s conduct before the referendum but said she did not want to start by attacking people who had suffered a heavy blow immediately after the vote. The most important thing, she said, was that the government had declared that the result would be respected.

She also welcomed Kristrún’s emphasis on national unity in the coming months, saying it would be costly if the issue led to division.

Although she acknowledged that the referendum had generated extensive debate, Egilsdóttir said the government had not fulfilled its duty to provide information adequately.

“Perhaps the most beautiful lesson of these weeks is that Icelandic voters do not wait for permission to familiarise themselves with major issues affecting the country’s interests,” she said.

She said the result would also release the government from an issue that had consumed considerable energy, time and attention, allowing it to focus fully on the domestic matters it was elected and promised to address, including prices, interest rates, housing and the country’s domestic system.

Egilsdóttir hopes the government will take the result as encouragement rather than rejection. “It now has a very clear mandate for domestic matters, and I wish it well in them. That is where we all have a stake, regardless of how we voted on Saturday.”

She said she was concerned by discussion of unnamed forces behind the referendum campaign.

“The most powerful force in this election is not unnamed. It is the government itself, with its ministries, the administration, its funding and the country’s biggest microphone,” she said.

Egilsdóttir hopes the government will accept that responsibility and use its power for constructive work on the issues voters have clearly demanded it address.