Hello and welcome to Iceland Roundup with me, Jón Trusti.You, Jón Trusti?Oh god, you guys are no help.Sintri Elton and Æsit Kæfnarsson.Oh, are we doing our own introductions now? I forgot, it's been so long.Let's try it again.Hello and welcome to Iceland Roundup with me, Jón Trusti Sigurðarsson.Hello and welcome to Iceland Roundup with me, Sintri Elton.Did I get that right?That was right.You don't have to say all the other things.Oh, okay, alright. I can just say Sintri Elton?Yep.Sintri Elton.Æsit Kæfnarsson.Thank you.Why aren't we named like Reykjavík? Have we discussed this before?Yeah, we have.Yeah, because we're rounding up more than Reykjavík most of the time.Yeah, we sort of need to fill the hour with more than just this city can provide.There's also the...Yeah.The, what, thousand square miles of, of, of bullshit.You know, although I do have, I do have a piece of non-news that would be fitting for the Reykjavík Roundup, which I'm going to mention later on.Yeah.But, uh, we're back. We've been off the air more or less this summer because vacations and we're in Europe and in Europe people take vacations.Not, not hittin to the rest of the audience.Yeah, I have not left the country all summer, but that's, I've still been in Europe.Yeah, somehow.Um.Although.52% of this country might disagree with that assessment.Yeah, maybe.Uh, I think for this episode, we should start by saying, telling people that we're still alive and we're still going to be on the air.Yeah, we haven't been executed for our pro-EU views yet.And, uh, we'll be continuing this hopefully into the winter if everybody's, uh, cooperating.Otherwise, I'll...Why did you, like, look me in the eyes?Just a subtle threat.Uh.You've gotten more bloodthirsty, uh, over the summer, I like it.Um, yeah, I'm getting, uh, uh, but we're going to mention.We're still alive, but let's see how that pans out.Yeah, we're going to.He has to prove how tough he is because he's the only one without a beard now.Yeah.He's got to, like.We're going to share our thoughts on the, you know, the, the recent referendum, which was on August 29th, on Saturday.Yeah.We might mention, uh, perhaps the economic situation in Iceland, the inflation, the, uh, the interest rates and the upcoming, uh, probably collective bargaining issues.Is there something to talk about?Because my feeling is after the campaign, uh, no to EU, that everything is, like, quite good.Yeah, they were just like, if you just say no to the EU.Everything will be fine.All of our economy will magically fix itself the next day.Yeah, because we...Yeah.We can't then do it ourselves.Well, I mean, in that case, we'll talk about the situation right now and then we'll beautifully watch it resolve itself on the back of that.Yeah, that's nice.Um.This is what I've been doing my whole life.And I kind of wanted to mention one thing that had to do with, uh, blot.Wow.Yeah.Yeah.Just to keep it interesting.I'm so excited.But if this were the Reykjavík roundup, I would tell you that this morning I went out to get a haircut and the street corner of, uh, Dalbröð and Röðilækur in 105.Röðilækur.Was covered with blood.Was, uh, they were having, um, they were doing some plumbing stuff there.So there was like a small, kind of almost a river that was streaming out of the street.That was the first thing I saw this morning, which was kind of fun.I wish it was a river of blood.Water, uh, which was being attended to by a group of seemingly quite panicked construction workers.Yeah.This is the kind of stuff that goes on.I love to see them panic.Yeah.I love to see them sweat.Yeah.I hate to say.I agree with you.But, uh, should we, should we start with the referendum?Yes.Let's do it.Yeah.So, yeah.Can you guys explain to me what the noists were referring to when they said, like, uh, we can drive the inflation down now instead of in four years or something?What those slogans were about?Because I saw those on the bus stops and I was just like, it's baffled.A little bit like, uh.Uh, difficult to comprehend because they also said, like, if we join the EU, we have to do it ourselves anyway before we can adopt the euro as a currency.So it's a bad thing for us to do something ourselves, but it's also like a good thing for us to do something ourselves is there was there is their message.Yeah.Yeah.Yeah.At least their messaging was sometimes just post us questions because they were so.What's the name of that again?Like some, somebody's law where, like, if the headline ends in a question, the answer is always no.It's sort of applicable to slogans as well.It's also the opposite.It's not necessarily a no, but it's the opposite to the thing that they're.This is why we.Yeah.Like, it's basically says that the previous statement is a lie.Yeah.In a sense.So the referendum took place on Saturday, 29th.It was a 52.7 or five.Yeah.It's a no and 4787 something .2.It's 47.5.Let's say that, yes, it's roughly half and half, roughly half.This is as close to being like a 50 50 split as you can get in, you know, in, well, you could get like 50 50.Yeah, I guess so.But I mean, you know, it was so it was about a hundred and five thousand voters for and a hundred and what, 18 against something like that.Yeah, it was a difference of like 15,000 votes, right?Something like that.Not even that.I think it was.I think it was like 12,700 votes in between.And it's like not even the town of Garabæs.Yeah.No, it's not a lot of people.But there was a.Well, it depends if like 12,000 people would show up at my house.I would think this is a lot of people.I can't handle this.True.And, you know, if 12,000 people, however, showed up to one of those outdoor festivals in the West Midlands in the beginning of August, that wouldn't be.Devastating for.The football club.The entire Icelandic economy would collapse.Who knows?Yeah.What will be the straw that breaks the camel's back?I don't think this result like proves anything other than the fact that we are pretty split about this.Like, well, what I take from this is that we actually have roughly 50 percent of Icelandic voters willing to like consider join.The EU, but are like, even if we had like, wow, my English, I forgot about.You left it at summer camp with your kids in the summer time.You will be fine.I mean, I mean, because we have this like the propaganda thing was crazy.It's like we lose our independence.We will have to sell all our electricity through a size drinker.I don't know.Through an underwater cable, which I think is this point.It is technically impossible, but whatever.Yeah.It's like young people are will have to join the European army that like doesn't exist.No.All of Holland's sewage will be sent here for processing.Yeah.But still like roughly 50 percent of Icelandic people are like, yeah, I think everything you're saying.Yeah.This all sounds better than the status quo.Like, please give me the Dutch sewage.If we could please just be done with our mustache twirling monopoly men that run this fucking.But I think, you know, the turnout was kind of stunning.We had 80 percent turnout, which is turnout, which is the biggest turnout we've had since the parliamentary elections in 2009 after the collapse.Yeah.I mean, this has been a contentious issue in this country since the EU was invented.Basically, it was very people were very mobilized.And it was like it was a clear decision when you like go and cast your vote in the parliament elections.You have options.Yeah.And you also have no idea if I vote for the Independence Party or if I vote for the left green movement.I have no idea what they will do after the elections.Yeah.I was thinking about it in the lead up.And it seems like a silly thing to do for any politician to like come out swinging in favor of yes or no, because it's like whatever the result is, you know, you now have to you now have to back that up.Like you're now.Link to those statements forever.But I guess in Icelandic politics, there are no fucking consequences.I mean, in politics in general, what you said yesterday is usually forgotten by tomorrow.That has become a thing.They tend to forget, not necessarily.Everybody else.But it doesn't really bite the way it did.That's one point.But I think my point is, like, if we have clear choices, people will come out and vote.It's like, yeah, it was a very clear choice.No was you knew what the S was.This was.I mean, if there were, like, more choices, if there was, like, you know, maybe I mean, you know, would you, you know, would you agree to some, like, parliament?I mean, they would have split it.It's sort of a victory for the right that there was a referendum at all, really, because there was like the stakes were really low.Basically, we would have said, yes, what would have happened?We would have, like, started having meetings with some people from Brussels just to see things.Right.To find out what exactly numerically this would look like.And so, I mean, this was the fourth referendum Iceland has ever had.We had one in 1944, which was a yes or no vote, which had a great turnout of whatever it was.Ninety-eight percent.We had a referendum on what?Whether to be a country?Yeah.Or independence.Independence.And that was like 97 percent was three percent or something.Yeah.It was like 117 people who voted no.Yeah.They were all Danish.And I was one of them.And then we had a couple of referendums.Unfortunately, back then, the only eligible voters were, you know, were white merchants over the age of 50 who owned at least a thousand sheep.That is not true at that point.That's not true.Fair.It was close to that era.So, and then we had two.Sort of like how there was democracy in ancient Greece.Yeah.If you were.Then we had two referendums.It was on the ICE-SAFE issue in 2011.Was that an issue?Which was basically an issue that had such a complicated question, I remember, that it was like two paragraphs or something.Yeah, it was also the first referendum was like about a deal that already has been like taken back.Yeah.So, it was just like a 200 million exercise in democracy.Yeah, an exercise in voting on something that didn't exist anymore.Yeah.Yeah.So, you know, we had those two.I don't think I even voted.I was just like, I'm too dense to understand this.It was completely pointless to vote in the first referendum.It turned out it was not this good.But, I mean, this began, we should probably trace, I mean, how far should we trace this back?This is always a problem when you trace this stuff.Like, if we trace this.European Union issue.No, no, no, no.The Coal and Steel Union, no.If we talk about where this referendum really comes from, we have to go back to the economic class.I think.Or we have to go back to 1993 when we joined the EEA, which is kind of like a halfway house for EU membershipwhere you have the common market and a lot of the regulations, but not full membership.Right?It's something like that.Yeah, yeah.So, let's start with the EEA.I mean, we joined the EEA without a referendum in 1993.Yeah, and people were like crazy about it.It was like a 50-50 split.It was a contested issue.And a lot of people didn't like it.But 30 years on, at least during this campaign, nobody said a bad thing about the EEA.No, they said it's so good, we don't need the membership of the EU.So, the no vote was going for like, EEA is excellent.It's the best thing ever.We should stick to it.So, that was interesting.Then, after the economic collapse in 2009, we were poor and demoralized and we applied for EU membership.Yeah.That came...That came to an end in 2013 when the government of the Progressive Party and this Independence Party,Simdur David Gunnarsson...Yeah, Simdur David, who's now like the...Chair of the Central Party.Yeah.And then...And that utter tool of a foreign minister that we had back then.I'm so happy I can't remember his name.He sent that ridiculous letter or whatever.Are we talking about Gunnar Brei Sveinsson?Yeah, Gunnar Brei Sveinsson.Yeah, that's it.Name the bastard.And Bjarni Benediktsson was the chair of the Independence Party then.At that point, they, I think, during the campaign, promised that there would be a referendumon whether we would continue the negotiations or not.Yeah, they were like, of course we're going to have a referendum.And then they just stopped the negotiations and never had any...A referendum.Then, when this...No, because they said it was like a...A politiskur omöðlegi.Political impossibility?Yeah.Nobody knows what it means, but it's a good word to...Yeah, it was like if the countries, like the voters say yes and we think no, we cannot...Do the yes thing.Right, that is what it is.If we disagree with the majority of the country, we can't do something and that is bad.We don't like to be told what to do is what that means, right?Yeah, basically.So that's politically impossible.Yeah.Then this coalition government, which was formed at the end of 2024, beginning of 2025,they put it into their coalition agreement that there would now be a referendum on whether or not to restart the negotiations.In the...In the agreement they were aiming for 2027, right?They said, like, they're gonna do it no later than 2027.Ah, okay.Something like that.So it wasn't like set in stone that it would be 2027, but...But then, the beginning of this year, I guess, following the whole...Whole shit show around Donald Trump and Greenland in January, which came to an end...At a time...At a time...At a time...At a time...In Davos, for now, the whatever G8 summit or whatever the hell it was, in Davos, what was it again?Nobody remembers?What are you talking about?The Davos summit in the end of January, do you remember that?Yeah.What organization was it?Was it the G8 or G7 or...No, no, just...Rich people?The World Economic Forum.Oh yeah, the World Economic Forum.That kind of ended there where, allegedly, or it was reported somewhere that the EU...Behind closed doors threatened sanctions on the US if they would move forward with that idea.So that stopped.It's awful how the chaotic way that Donald Trump does everything, it sort of makes it impossible to follow when stuff happens.Because he'll start talking about completely unrelated stuff, like the very wrong forum for it.Well, during the World Economic Forum, which is the wrong forum for a lot of different things, he was...He was talking about Greenland, but he kept saying Iceland instead, as you may remember.Yeah.It's like it's wrong in so many ways.That was confusing.He's not even correctly talking about the things he shouldn't be talking about.But at that point, the government announced, or subsequent to that, the government announced that they were going to move forward with the referendum for August 29th.Yeah.And it was really interesting to see, like, the chair of the independence party, Gunnar Haastænstóttir, the ice queen,because her family owns...It's like an ice cream factory in Þerrageri.Yeah.Which is like, Þerrageri is like the...What's hver?It's like...It's a hot spring.A hot spring.So an ice cream factory and a hot spring will...Well, you need power to cool ice cream, so...Exactly.This is all perfect.As he was doing, like, what has changed?Nobody has explained what has changed in the world, so we need to do this.And I think that was the most remarkable thing about the campaign.On the...The no and the yes side.It's like, how out of touch with reality some people are.Yeah, because when this was announced, the...At least, I think the foreign minister cited uncertainty in international affairs as a reason to hold the referendum.This was never explained.In more detail, you just had to draw your own conclusions.I mean, the inference is pretty obvious.Oh, yeah, it is.It is.But Gunnar Haastænstóttir was not...No, but she...She didn't find it that obvious, at least.She doesn't subscribe to, like, the New York Times or Guardian or something.I don't know.No, she's not been...Mortenblad has not been explaining this.This was not covered in Bæntabladðið, you know.Yeah, it didn't at least seep in there.So, then we had...It didn't what?It didn't seep in there?It didn't seep in there, yeah.So, then we had this campaign for, like, however many months.Six months, let's say that.Yeah, so nice.And it kind of began with...The Yes campaign kind of kicked it off.And then, by summer, the No campaign under the banner of Áfram Ísland, or Forward Ísland,had kind of taken over the narrative a bit.Yeah, because the Yes people, they all went on vacation to Europe during the summertime.Yes, yes.And their messaging was kind of, you know,if we join the European Union, everything will be better.And all our problems will be solved.And then...And then they just ran on kind of corny slogans likeKiki pakkan, or, like, look into the package, orYes to see.Ja, til þessi á.It was so perfectly polarizing, wasn't it?It is like the two Icelands.Like, even the ads, like, for the No people,it looked like this sort of, like, cross-stitching, maybe?And there was, like, the old-style, like, cross to No.Just like it was, you know, the sort ofDróttin blessi heimilis, like, stitching look.And then the Já, the Yes campaign, was, like,so artsy-fartsy new wavethat it was almost incomprehensible.Like, you didn't even understand what they were talking about sometimes.It was like, já, til þessi á.No.It was like, if I had no idea what was going on,this would get me nowhere.Yeah.There was no, nothing...No, then the No campaign, like,aesthetically, in other ways, ran on somethingthat we've been jokingly in the office callingknitted wool sweater porn.Yeah.Wool sweater nationalism.Yeah.Yeah.But that's the gist of it.And, you know,whereas the polling prior to this yearand all year until just a couple of daysbefore the election pointed towardsa slight, small victory for the Yes vote,that was not what the last polls indicated.Well, it was...Do you think anyone changed their mindat any point during the campaign?Oh, yes.Really?We know they did.Yeah, he did.Really?Yeah, he voted no, but it was like a yes, man.Really?Is this true?I wasn't supposed to tell...Oh, sorry.I'm not going to tell you how I voted.No, no, no, no.I mean, are you going to...I'm only joking.Are you going to tell how you voted?I didn't vote.I don't believe in democracy.Well, this is all very helpful.That's somehow an even sadder answer.Yeah, somehow it's even worse.I really can't decide which one I'm more disappointed in right now.No, I think...I think it's pretty obvious how I voted.I'm not even going to bother getting into that.No, so...No, of course I'm not going to say how I voted.No, the polling was always slightly to the yes side, but what I...Yeah, but it was so slightly, it wasn't like marktagt, what's that?It wasn't...Yeah, it didn't...It was hard to...Within the margin of error.Yeah, it was...Yeah, yeah, yeah.And then my initial sort of reading on this because of that was that I felt that it waslikely this spring that the no vote would find this more existential and therefore showup to vote.Yeah.And the yes vote wouldn't...Because the yes is...It's pretty much a very open maybe and it's really hard to get excited about that.Yeah, it's like...But...The no was so clear.You could like feel like this patriotic...With...Woman's sweater nationalism.But saying yes is like...The sour smusk of capitalism.Yeah, moment of having a conversation.I'm not sure where the conversation will lead.Yeah, it was very, you know...It's like how...I mean, nobody gets excited about having a conversation with a bureaucrat in Brussels.No.Like, that's just like...Yeah, I mean, it speaks to the fundamental like unsellability of the future.You can always sell people the status quo or indeed the past because everyone knows whatit looks like.Yeah.But it's harder to sell people the future because you don't know.But we...Yeah, we also have like such a like bad experience in believing in the future.I mean, you remember the Jetsons?I am familiar with its existence.Yeah, like flying cars and...It's like space age...Flintstones?Yeah.Some people think that the Flintstones actually happens after the Jetsons.That that's like a post-apocalyptic world.That's a happy thought.Yeah.That's nice.But...So, it was always a slim margin.But I remember, I think we talked about it this spring when we were obviously discussingthis, that we had a really hard time understanding the timing of the referendum, you know, thegovernment's timing of it, if it was at all their intent to get a yes out of the referendum.Yeah.Because it seemed tactically inept.Like, you timed it in such a way that it was happening just after like the end of summervacation and just, you know, the week of the first school week in Iceland.Yeah.And also the campaign was basically supposed to take place during summer, which it obviouslydid.But summer is also vacation time.And people are just trying to figure out where the best weather is to get their car overthere.Is it possible at all to assume that a group of politicians were so altruistic that theyjust decided, like, let's vote on this as soon as we can because we said there wouldbe a fucking vote?That they were just doing it to do the right thing?I really don't know.I don't know.I mean, it's also a strange campaign.It boggles the mind, doesn't it?There's no ulterior motive.They're also fulfilling the...Uncapped promise of a government three governments ago.Yeah, yeah, yeah.Which is really weird.But that's what they wanted to do.And what was interesting, and they did it and they failed, and what is kind of interestingalso about it is that the only party in the coalition that really, truly was visibly seenfighting for the vote was the Reform or Restore or whatever you call it, Withrest.Whereas...Restore.Restore.Restart.Restart.But whereas...Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.Restart.and it just settled thisThey are like against Iceland membership of the EUlike quite outspokenabout itWho?The thirdAnd the reformer pro-EU right?Yeah and someAnd then the social demsare traditionally in favor of itbut Kristrún was kind of openaboutthat she was not making thisa massive part of her agendawhen we interviewed her last fallYeah because that would be unwiseand she is not afucking foolI don't know becauseit was on her government's agendaand theyThey lostYeah the referendum was on their agendaYeah but she did not reallyHer campaigning wasNo she didn't support it reallyShe didn't really support it and she didn't really do a lot of campaigningabout it. She did some town hall meetings in AugustYeah but she likecalled them listening meetingsShe was not theretrying to do somethingMost new laborshit that I've ever heardbut okBut I meanIn the end they were likeI mean the Danish radioIn the end it doesn't really matterSo here we areand what we ended up withThose lyrics just get truer every yeardon't they?They lostWhatever the YES campaign was doingin the summer it fizzled outpretty muchbut the NO campaignshowed up like with a lot of forceand apparently a lot of moneyMhmYeah gee I wonder where that came fromand nobody will everCould it possibly be tied to the same people who havea vested interest in staying out of the EUbecause they have so much moneyYeah first ofYeahFirst of all we will never really knowwhere the money came from or how it was spentbecause the like theWe have no lawsWe have no lawto deal withIt's almost like these people already run the countryWe have no laws to deal withWe have no laws to deal with a referendumSo we will never knowand this is interesting in so many waysbutI don't think it's generally considered gooddemocratic behavior to have no laws on campaign fundingbut we'll have to debate whyIt would seem to be at odds withyeah with equalityThe idea of the transparency in and around democracykind of flies against thatbut that was a part of the mixandthe no campaign ran really well fundedanda pretty smart campaigncompared to likeyou knowin terms of its effectivenessWell yeahyou can't argue with resultsYeah but that's like saying theBrexit campaign was likereally goodIn getting out of the union yeahYeahYeah but it's likeI'm not saying it was smartbut it was effectiveYeah but you saidI'm not we areNow theyDon't buy smart peopleNothing about the messaging was smartbut it was effectiveThey played fast and loosewith the concept of truthYeahSometimesBut I mean the yes side did as wellYeah they didIn a less sort ofDifferent way thoughBut the whole framing which I thought they didsuccessfully was likeLet's make this an existential questionabout the future of IcelandYeahWe're saying no saves usand saying maybedooms us foreverand that succeededand that's quite mobilizingYeahThey were talking likewe wereabout to joinsome sort of fuckingyou knowfederationlike you knowlike we were about to let ourselvesbe annexed byyou knowI think it's like for meit's likesome sort of Hitler thingyou knowand it's just likeit's not what it isit's likeyeahif youif you reallyfelt that waythen you could go to likeGermanyand go to Franceand say that you're in the same countrylike that there's no differencebetween the twoIt's justSome peoplefeel that they areYeahmaybe 52% of the countryfeel that wayI meanit's likecrystallized inthatthecampaign on the no sidelikebroughtto IcelandKarlBautenbakurOh yeahthe formerchief justice of theEFTA courtor theEEA courtand he wasexplainingthatby sayingyestohaving thesenegotiationswecould neverback downfroma fullmembershipbecause wewould besolike it wouldbe sodifficultfor ourpoliticianstolikesay noto theEUand it'sjust likeyeahthat is alot ofnonsensehave youbeen to Icelandhave youspoken tothe averageIcelandicpersonthey willjust dowhateverthe hellthey wantlikeyeahagainlike lookat thewhat wasthe 2013electionwith theprogressiveswhere theyjust likeunilaterallydecidedlike okayyeahwe're justgonnayou knowend theseinformalnegotiationsthat arealreadyhappeningas ifit's somelike greatstatementand it'sjust likeyeahI meanI agreelike Icelandicpeoplethey willjust dowhateverthe fuckthey wantlike it'snot gonnayeahbut I havea completefaiththat ifthe dealwe wouldget fromthe EUwas badin anywayuhJust saynoI meanyeahand evenif therewasn'ta secondreferendumlike whateverparty wouldbe pursuinglike thebad dealtheiryou knowtheirgovernmentwouldcallthecoalitionwouldn'tholdthroughlikethesecondreferendumif theywouldlikebackpedalon thatwe neededto changetheconstitutionof Icelandand that'slikeit's noteasy todonobecauseyou havetoyeahpeoplehave beenunsuccessfullytrying todo itfor decadesa sittinglike therulesyou haveto havea sittingparliamentchangedin theconstitutionand thenyou haveto votein anewparliamentextramajoritywhat'sthatcalledyeahthere'sa supermajorityand thenyou haveto haveanotherelectiona newparliamentwho alsohave topassthechangedconstitutionand thatis whatwe wouldhave todo toget intotheEuropeanUnionifthatwasthecaseapartfromthatthewholelineaboutthattheremightneverbeanotherreferendumon theissueandImeanit'shypotheticallypossiblebut it'spoliticallythat isa realpoliticalimpossibilityand alsowe are anation offarmers andfishermenwe havehayfislersyeahhayforksI meanno oneis goingto makeus jointhe EUif wedon'treallywant tono butI meanbut it'sa linethat workedand theother lineI don'tthinkanyoneactuallybelieveI metpeoplewho actuallybelievethatyeahI thinkthere arepeoplewho reallydobelievethatyeahyeahyeahI talkedto somebodygo hangoutin aswimmingpoolin thesuburbsfor likea wholedayand justlistentothey'regoingtotakethatawayfromusyeahI talkedtosomebodyonThursdaythesuburbsI thinkthey shouldtakethesuburbsyeahIdon'tcuta dealwiththeEUifyoucouldjusttakeallofoursuburbsandkeepthemwecanhavetherestofthecountryIthinkeveryonewouldendupkindofhappyIseethisreallyasliketherearelikeifthenoistsaregoingtoframethisassomehugevictorywhenit'snotlikebasicallya50-50splitlikeIcanframethisaslikethereweretwogroupsofpeoplethatjustlikewhenputtogethermanagedtooutnumberonesolidblockofpeoplelikeifyouvotedyesthenyouthinkthestatusquohereisfuckedandthingscouldbebetterthat'sunanimouslythat'ssortofselfexplanatorybutthenoistsisactuallytwocampsit'slikethepeoplewhothinkeverythinghereisfineandthepeoplewhothinkthatthingsaren'tfinebuttheywouldgetworseifwejoinedtheEUandliketheveryfactthateventhosetwoputtogetheronlymanagedtobeattheyespeoplebylike3%tomeisquitetellinglikeIthinkthat48%ofpeoplethatliveherethinkthatthingsaresofuckedthatthey'rewillingtoexploreyouknowwhatcanbedotoun-fuckthisplaceit'scompletelyfuckedbuttheylikethingscouldbebettercouldbebetteryeahsoit'snicetobeinIcelandoneothermessagingthatIthinkyeahI'mnotsayingthisissomehellholeyou knowdespiteall myyellingon thisshowyou knowit'sfinebutthingscouldcertainlybea lotmoretransparentandlikeeconomicallyequalizedyeahbutalsolikewe'veneverbeenabletocontaininflationwehavelikesystematicallyhigherinterestratesthananybodyelseinEuropeyeahsoit'sliketosaynowthatit'slikethere'snowaytodothissomehowlikedifferentlyorbetterit'slikethat'sthecrazythoughtandnowthenocampaigntheboththesesideswhothinkeverythingisgreatthepeoplelikeontopandthepeoplemostlylikesocialistsandreallylefttotheleftwhowanttohavelikeasocialistrevolutionhereandlikereorganizedsocietylikethosepeoplehavetothennowlikereallystartliningupthosemolotovcocktailsawesomesignmeupcomradegroupsarelikereallyasyouwereexplainingthey'reonthecompleteoppositeyeahandit'sanothervictoryforthisyouknowveryexpensivenoistcampaignthatJuntiwasdescribingthattheymanagedtosortofunitethesefactionsintolikethisveryslightmajoritythattheyhavetheymanagedtolikecombineyouknowthepeoplewhotraditionallydon'tcombinewhohavetheonlythingtheyhaveincommonistheyliketosaynotothingsandthatkindofworkedoutbutthatwasalsothespacetheyweregivenbythesetabovethisreferendumIthinkthereisdefinitelylikeasortofidentityinIcelandlikeasortofpersonwhoislikeanationalistleftistyouknowsortoflikeacentristslashleftistorlikeacentristwhothinksheisaleftistandisactuallyquitenationalistyeahwehavethattoobutsotheothermessagingIthinkwassuccessfulwasthathintthatifweweretojointheEUwewouldbeautomaticallysendingourkidstotheEuropeanArmyistheresuchathingnoit'snotamilitaryalliancehowharddoyouhavetohowmuchtimedoyouhavetospendonWikipediatofindoutthatthereisnoEUArmyImeanit'sreallyhardtofindthingsthatdon'texistontheinternetit'sahorrifyingexistencethatthesepeopleliveIfeelsorryforthenoistsIdoIhaveananecdoteaboutthisandittracksbacktothelastpollbeforethereferendumandyouknowapollIcheckedoutfrommiddleofJunesoyouknowIwastalkingtoaelementaryschoolteacherIguessyouknowhe'steaching15yearsyeahyeahthat would bemiddleschoolinAmericaIdon'tknowwhatitwouldbecalledinEnglandandhewassayinglikeyeahthekidsI'mtalkingtothatI'mteachingyouthinkthey allwent toHogwartsdon'tyouyouthinklikeallEnglishkidsgotoHogwartsyeahtheyweretheywereallsayinglikewecan'tsayyestothisIdon'twanttojoinanarmytheydon'twanttojointhearmynotheydon'twanttojointheEuropeanArmythisiswhattheyweresayingandoneofthekidswithaccesstothingsontheirphonessoit'sfunnybecauseIcanvoteandoneofthedemographicsthatwasbrokendowninoneofthoseyesandnosurveyswasthe18to29yearolddemographicandtheyshiftedfrombeingbasicallyyouknowatthe52or53percentyesasmore orlesswastheaverageinJunedownto60percentagainstjustbeforethereferendumsowhoeverwastalkingtothemwaswithnoideamaybewe'resucceedingTikTokprobablyit'sTikTokyeahI meanlikethis islike aI havea friendwhoteachesyou knowthislevelofkidas wellandlikeIhavenofriendsokaywecanworkonthatyeahbeinginjournalismdoyousometimesfeelreallyaloneit'sa lonelyprofessionisn'titbutyeahIhaveafriendwhoalsoteachesmiddleschoolandImeanlikehetalks aboutlikeyouknowbothlateandlateandandyesin awaybecausebothlatentandovertracismandxenophobiaarequiterampantamongyoungpeopleinIcelandlikein awaythatwewerenotreallyacknowledginglikeandhomophobiaandmisogynylikeyou knowI don't knowif it'sthebro spherefuckingpodcastersor acombinationofsort ofelementsI meanit'sit'sit'sbeengoagainstthemainstreamthat'stheteenageyeahyougoagainstthemainstreamyeahand sort ofpoorlyI don't want to saypoorly runschoolsbut likeschools that arerun on likea shoestringbudgetand copingwith likea biginflux ofimmigrantsand notreally doingit in avery effectivewayis creatingthese sortofyou knowtheseconflictsin schoolswhichwhichlead toxenophobiaand racismwhich lead tolike you knowkids born andraised hereto think oflike allimmigrationas beingfor theworstand they'reeasilysusceptibleto likemoneyedprofessionalson socialmediawarpingtheirmindsto whatevertwistedpurposesuitstheirmustachetwirlingmonopolymenoverlordsyeahpredictionis thatthe nextgenerationwill actuallytake usout oftheEAwellnofreemovementof peoplemoneyandpossiblyyeahpossiblyyou knowII thinkI thinkthatyou knowtherethere aretwo pathsout ofhavinga racistchildhoodyou knowthere's onewhere you getmore racistand there'sone whereyou suddenlyrealizelike actuallyit's notpeople fromother countriesthat arethe problemit's richpeople inmy owncountrythat isactuallythe problemand youknowthere'sjust somany factorsat worklike youknowyou couldhave abaddivorceand thatcanthat'llchangeyouropinionsofeverythingyou knowyou couldaboutraceyeahlikeyou knowpeople areso affectedby otherfactorsin theirlifethey'renotreallyyou haveto havesort ofa breakdownsometimesto seethingsin adifferentlightlikesay ifyou'remarriedto anextraterrestrialand itgoesreallybadlyit'skindofit'slikeMorkand Mindybut youunderstandwhat I'msayinglike there'sso manyfactorsat workand oftenit hasnothingto dowith likethe actualfactsof thecaseit'sjustlikelikeImeanwe cantalk aboutBrexitwherethere ismoreimmigrationafter Brexitthan wasbeforeyeahthat'strueyeahsoI meanthe funnypartfor mefor thiscampaignwas thatthestatedgoalofit'sallfunnysothestatedgoalyeahthestatedgoalyou knowasstatedby oneof thegovernment'sministerswhen thiswas seton theagendawas thatwearelivingin aprecariousinternationalenvironmentthatdid notenter thediscoursethissummerthatwearelivingininterestingtimesyeahthatwasnotapartofwhatwasdiscussedwhichwasinterestingbutattheendofthedayitwasinterestingtolistentothepressconferencethatthegovernmentheldonSundayinHarpanthedayafterthereferendumwheretheyveryboastfullydeclaredvictoryfordemocracyandtheydeclaredvictoryover48percentofthecountryandwhilethelocalnewshasnotbeentalkingaboutthisthatheavilyIwouldsayalthoughtherewasabitofcoverageaboutthefactweshouldprobablyreformourlawsregardingcampaignmoneyfromtheheadoftheunionofunionsorwhateverthehellyoucallthecoalitionofunionsIthinkthatrightfullytheIcelandicpresshaskindofrealizedthatnobodyreallywantstotalkaboutthisanymorewe'rejusthappyit'soveryeahbutstillweareherelike45minutesinyeahyeahlikethisisforaforeignaudienceyeahyeahthinkaboutotherpeopleI'mnotdonetalkingaboutthisnotbyacountryfuckingmilemanbutthatwasintheswimmingpoolsoyoucandiscussthiseverymorningyeahbutthatwasthatwaskindofthegovernment'slinebutImeanIsawthattheDanishratiosorrybutIwasactuallysurprisedbyhowmanylikeolderpeopleIheardIoverheardtalkingaboutvotingyeslikeIfeellikeReykjavikReykjavikwaslike60%yesImeanbutIwenttolikeGóborandHapnagfjörðuronthatpointexactlyandmeetingwasinsidejusttolikeyeahsunglassesinsidereallycoollikethefutureissobrightIgottawearshadesshe'sliketheickypopofpoliticsyeahthetheoneofthethingssheactuallypointedoutwhichIthinkisaccurateisthatshepointedoutthatthevotewaswaystrongerfornoandthecountrysidelikeoften60%yeahanditwasclosetolike57inReykjavíkorsomethingfouryeahandshejustassociatedthiswiththesituationinthehousingmarketpointingoutthatpeopleinReykjavíkarelivinginthehousingmarketfrozenbrokenhousingmarketandpeopleoutsideofReykjavíkorat leastoutsideofhavemoreoptionshavebetterlikeoptionsandexperienceswiththatthat'sa reallygoodpointthat'slikethemostintelligentthingI'veeverheardwhichmightbeathingactuallyandIthinkitmattersIthinkitalsomattersthatIthinkthose18to29yearoldvoterswhovotednoImeansuresomeofthemmaybebelievethattheywouldotherwisebesenttoaEuropeanarmybutIthinktheportionofthemthatsaidnoisnottheportionofthemthatistryingtogetintothehousingmarkettheystilltheDanishradiowroteastoryonIthinkitwasSundaynightorMondaymorningwheretheycalledthisamassivehumiliationfortheIcelandicgovernmentyeahtheydonotunderstandIcelandicpoliticsnoIdon'tthinksowellthey'reintheEUrightsoImeanthey'regonnasaythatbutinternallyitdoesn'tfeellikethatbutyouknowfromtheoutsideitlookslikeahumiliationImeancanIjustyouknowsaylikeyouknowIfeellikewe'reasaguywhovotedyeslikeI'mnotgonnaoverlookthefactthat48%ofthecountryinspiteofthispropagandacampaignandinspiteofallthisbullshitiscleareyedenoughtoseeyouknowthatthingscouldbebetterhereyeahyeahRonaldoalmostscoredthat'swhatyou'resayingnobutImeannothingsarekindoffuckedhereandcouldbealittlebitbetterIthinkthisislikeonanyotherdaythiswouldbeseenasalittlebitofavictoryIhadlikethisisapapiofamansoI'mgonnaaddiftheseDanishguyswantustobeintheEUsomuchtheycanyouknowImeanIcankindofunderstandthatnobodyisgonnaembarrassInkasilentnonothat'struethat'sreallyhardforthemtounderstandIguessshewaswearingshadeswhentheywerelookingatherImeanhowwouldtheyknowshe'snotcoolIdon'tknowsoIguessIcanunderstandwhytheDanesaredisappointedbecauseIcelandisadmittednexttoGreenlandandthey'restillworriedaboutGreenlandbutoneoftheotherpetpeevesI'vehadponderingthisthissummeristhefactIwastryingtofigureoutwhytheinternationalglobalpoliticalsituationneverreallyenteredthediscoursehereandmytheoryisthatIcelandicnewspapersandmediaoutletsbackinthe20thcenturyhadforeigncorrespondenceand alotofforeigncoveragebecauseIcelandis asmallcountrywhathappensintherestoftheworldisamoreimportantthanwhathappensheretoalotofthingsthataren'tinplayintheearly2000slikeyeahwiththeonsetoftheinternettheseforeigndepartmentswereusuallykindoflaidoffordisappearedmoreor lessyeahbutalsoImeanMorgonblæðiouroldestnewspaperouronlydailynewspapertheyusedtolikethefrontpagestoryusedtobealwaysforeignnewsyeahforeignnewsbutputtinglikedomesticnewsonthefrontpagethingsthattheybecameaslightlymorenationalistpaperin awayitwasjustlikelookinginwardinsteadofoutwardsand Ithinkthat'sthatshiftingeneralwhateverpropagateditIdon'tknowIdon'tthinkitcamefromanysentientsortofdecisionmakingonthisthefeudthatDavidHudsonhadwiththeFriðarblæðipeoplealsolikethenatureIdon'tseeanysortofintentinitIthinkitjustkindofaccidentallyhappenednoyeahI'mnotsayingitwaslikeabigyouknowIdon'tthinkeitherofthemwerecapableofthatlevelofstrategyonagrandscalebuttherewassubconsciousshiftofsayingthewordstrategyyeahbutstrategysogettingtomypointhereisthatforthepasttwodecadesthiswasthisfilterofexplainingtoIcelandicreadersorvotersorwhateverwhatthisoccurrenceabroadmeansforuswheneveritdoesandwesimplynothonedinanymoretothatideathatstuffthathappensabroadmayactuallymattertousandIthinkthat'spartlythereasonwhythissortofglobalsituationevenwithGreenlandbeinginthenewsa lotinJanuarydidn'treallyaffectthepollingnumbersbecauseifyoulookedattheDecemberthereisalsothatbutwhatwasinterestingaboutthiswasthewholeGreenlandthingwasplayingoutinJanuary2026inDecemberpriortotheannualsortofroundupwherepoliticiansdrankdrinksnapsandareliveonTVtherewasapollwherethankGodtoobecausethey'remorefunthatwaysometimesit'samazingtheystilldoittheyshowupandgetlikedrunkhammereddownafewákavitisnapyeahbutI reallylike thetaste ofbrennivínit dependson ifit's aleft winggovernmentor rightwinggovernmentif it'sa rightwinggovernmentit'ssomethingDanishsothepollinginDecemberversusthepollingwithregardstotheEUwasbasicallythesamebeforeandafterJanuarybutinthatFebruarypollpeoplewerealsoaskediftheywereworriedabouttheinternationalsituationandthatnumberwentuplikeanElonMuskrocketsoevenifyouhadthatelementandpeopleweredefinitelythinkingaboutitanditwasinthepollithadnoeffectonthenumbersoftheEUsonobodyseemstohaveseenitasanactualfeasibleoptionforoursecuritybutwealsohavelikeaportionofthenationthatreallywantstolooktoAmericayeahwedoyeahImeanwearelikewe'reinthesnapmiddlebetweenwe'vealwaysbeenhalfEuropeanhalfAmericantherewasatimewhenIwouldhavearguedforthatbutthattimeislongsincepastthatwasbackinthedaywhentheUSpresidentwasmoreliberalthanthepoperightyeahandit'salsoyeahwhatthefuckisevengoingonohsorryyeahallgoodbutyeahokaysobutthere'sbeenlikeinterestfromforeignpunditsinthisreferendumrightseemslikeyeahyeahI meanI'vedoneI'vedonethisofficehasbeenatthereceivingendofsomanyinterviewsthisyearthatitkindofbafflesmymindwithDutchradioonTVinrelationtotheEUyeahmoreorlesslikefirstGreenlandandthentheEUyeahhowIlikedwhat'smyfavoriteswimmingpoolandwhetherornotIlikeandI'veseenanelfrecentlyyou'resuchaposterboyyoushoulddolikeaplaygirlspreadsoyouknowplaygirlis amagazineIdon'tthinkitexistsanymoreyeahIdon'tthinkitexistsanymoreit'sjusttheregulargrapevineohIwouldalsowritethereminderyoushoulddocenterfoldsactuallyI'mgonnainterruptthisheredoacalendarweareactuallygonnadoacalendarbutwithnamethesheepsopicturesofsheepthatwe'vebeenpickingupthegrapevinewedidawholebitaboutthisandlikeyeahyouwannahavesexwiththesheepbutalsofinallyliveyoucannowsubscribetotheregulargrapevineonourwebsiteandgiveusmoneyeveryweekeverymonthIsorryandthisishingesonpeoplesteppingupnowandmakingsureArsdenhasenoughmoneytopayforhiscarrepairwhichiswhathe'sattendingtoaftertheshowsogotograpevine.ispressthesubscriptionbuttonontheupperrightcornerandvoilathisissomethingthatdoesnotgettalkedaboutenoughit'sjustliketheludicrousamountsofmoneyyouhavetospendtoownacarinthistowninacountrythat'sthisdependentoncarsthatyoucanstillgetchargedthismuchbutnowmycarislikeinaperfectconditionwhichiswhyyou'regonnasellitrightsoIhavetosellitbecauseIhavetopayfortherepairthat'sliketiedupinthecarpayforitsothisisallcarownershipinIcelandleadstoridiculoussituationslikethiseverybodyhasastorylikethisbutlikeifmyfamilylikemymotherandmybrotherandmyoneofmysisterwouldn'tliveinMorsfjallstallurI couldjustliketakethebusdon'twhycan'tyoubemorespecificaboutwhatrelationsofyoursisactuallyasheepfarmerinMorsfjallstallurit'slikemybrotherI loveeverythingaboutthisgettingintothefactthatlikehowterriblethebusesarethatdogotoMorsfjallstallurbecausebusesdogotherebutIdon'twhateverthat'scalledthishastodowithsheepsicknessandhowthey'renotallowedacrossspecificlandsriversyoucan'ttakesheepacrossyeahyeahanddefinitelynotwithabaleofhayandafoxnosookayhidethesheepinsidethebaleofhayIwantedtolikejustmentionbrieflybecauseit'sit'sbeenanissueforsomanyyearsbutfromIthinkyesterdayonwardseverybodyinIcelandcannotgivebloodyeahit'slikeforthelongesttimegaypeoplewere notallowedtogivebloodorgaymenIthinkbutit'sjustsexuallyactivegaymenwaswhatIthinkitsaidontheforumsotheycandothatnowandit'sagoodopportunityforpeoplewhomaybelisteningorwatchingwholiveherethatthebloodbankinIcelandislookingformorebloodallthetimeyeahsonowyoucanbesexuallyactiveandgivebloodandbegayyoucanbeanawesomepersonallaroundyesyoucanandit'sgreatandlikenonocommentsI havenonothingwhat'sthislikeisthisisgoingtobelikeawaveofgaymengoingtoI'vebeendyingtogivepeopletheirbloodI meanit'slikewe'regoingtofindoutwhatamIgoingtodowithallthisbloodmaybemaybemaybejustmaybeweshouldjustbutI'mthankfulI'vereceivedbloodsoI'mthankfulforthisI'veonlygivenbloodsomaybewe canjustlikecutoutthemiddlemanandthat'sbecauseyou'reactuallyEuropeanpotentiallyyou'refromtheunionI'mfromtheunionsolastlymaybethenocouldhavegottenafewmorevotesiftheywouldhavetoldgaypeoplelikeifyouvotenothenyoucanfinallygivebloodbutlastlytolookforwarda bitsowe'veyou knowI thinkwe'redonewiththereferendumIthinkeverybody'shappythatit'soverthat'sdonenextthingwehavewhich52%of thepopulationisconfidentthat wecan dowithoutanyhelpyeahlet'sseethemfuckingtryandmotivatorswouldbegoodwhiletheinterestrateswerejumpedbywhatdowecall0.25%thisAugustto8%andwehavelike5.5or75.7%inflationandwe'vehadinflationforlongenoughthisyearthatallofthecollectivebargainingagreementsthattookmonthsandmonthstosettleacoupleofyearsagoarenowvoidsothatisgoingtobeourfallthat'sgoingtobetheautumnforusit'sgoingtobeendlesshecklingit'sgoingtobeveryinterestingtoseethechairpersonofone ofthelargestunionsinIcelandexplainnowtotheothersideshe'snegotiatingwithhowIcelandisnotdoingterrificandhowworkersarenotgettingpaidreallywellinIcelandbecausethat'swhatshewassayingduringthenocampaignyeahwhereshewassidebysidewiththeoppositioninhercasethemoneyinterestinIcelandit'sgoingtobeinterestingtoseebutImeansheispositionedherselfstrangelyas aunionleaderatleastthissummersoshewillhavetobackpedala bitofthosecommentsbeforeenteringintonegotiationsandit'sgoingtobereallyinterestingtoseehowtheunionsaregoingtowhattheirdemandswillbeImeaniftheymakeharddemandsthat'sgoingtobemoreinflationaryyeahitcouldbebecausewehavetheknowledgethattheemployerswilljustlikehaveaflatnoyeahbutalsowhentheyraisepaytheywilljusthavejustdumpitinthepriceyeahthat'swhattheytendtodoImeanwhichwillalsobeinflationarytheyshoulddemandsomeofthatgaybloodnowthatit'senteredthemarketwewantthatgaybloodthey'vebeenholdingoutIreallydon'tthinkit'slikeamarketIalwayspictureitkindoflikeamarketyeahitlookslikeadoesithavebagsofbloodhangingitlookslikeacocktailbarforcountDraculasothat'swhat'scomingandthatwillbeincrediblyboringanddemoralizingto watchit'sgoingto besomuchfunwe'regoingtohavetobekeepinganeyeonthatbutotherthanthatI'mhappyto bebackIdon'tknowaboutyouguyswhetheror notthisisactuallytoyourlikingbutshallwemakeapromisetotheaudiencewe'llbebackinaweekyou'retryingtosayitlikeontherecordallthesepoliticiansarealwaysmakingthesepromisesandtheydon'thavetofuckingdoshitsoyeahI'mgoingtopromiseitIpromisetobebacknextweekandif I'mnotbackwhatareyougoingtodoaboutitpunchmethroughtheinternetI'llbeathomeenjoyingmygaybloodinpeacehappytoannouncethatyoucannowsubscribetotherecordandgiveusmoneyweneeditwe'rebrokeashellandwe'llseeyounexttimehopefullyinaweekI'lltalkprivatelywithAlistairaboutthatgoodbyegóðandag
