The headlines really are incredibly misleading. My first thought when I read NYT's headline, "Iceland's Government Collapses," was something along the lines of "Oh no! I hope they don't all starve!"
Honestly it's still probably something of a concern, what with the terrible economic woes facing them.
Okay seriously. Please change the thread title and content of the first post or something. Iceland has not disappeared under the waves.
... yet.
Don't worry, if we go down we will make sure to take everyone down with us :twisted:
On a more serious point, it sounds like a new government coalition between the the Social Democratic Alliance Party and the left green party (with the support of the progressive party) is in making. It would rule with a minority in the Parliament though. The new prime minister would likely be for the first time a woman, who was the only minister in the late government that people were happy with.
Nothing has been written in stone yet though but we'll see how tomorrow goes.
(I hope this is understandable, i'm not good with politics and English together...)
(I hope this is understandable, i'm not good with politics and English together...)
Ég skilurðu.
Flottur.
Bjork.
And wow, was this ever a bad use of words by the Times. Congress stops working all the time in the US. Hell, during the banking disaster there were some congressmen who didn't want to convene. It's shitty, and is only going to make Iceland's economic situation worse, but the Government, in the sense of a system, has not collapsed. And yeah, I would say this is like if midterm the Obama administration broke up and somehow that required a new election for congress and president to be held.
What I am confused on is this: Do you vote for a party/coalition or an actual representative? Because in the US our Congressmen are voted as people first, so if they wanted to break away and be independent it wouldn't cause a reelection in that district/state. So really, half of the Democrats could break off and form a Liberal party and it wouldn't change anything until the next elections. It seems like voting for a party is a terrible idea which we sort of do for President and I'm not fond of it.
It should also be mentioned that Parlamentary systems lack the number of presidential appointments that the US system has. There is no case of the presidents golf-buddy getting appointed head of FEMA for instance. All senior bureocratic posts are held by people with decades of experience.
The downside is that all senior bureocratic posts are held by people with decades of experience.
Kipling217 on
The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
Basically right now is the only time I'm glad to have a first past the post system. At least something like this is very unlikely in the UK, especially right now when our economy is about to follow Iceland up shit creek, paddling with only its hands.
See, I can't understand posts like this. How can one admit the UK is in the same exact position and then claim it's different? The fact is the UK as well as Ireland are in the exact same position as Iceland, just that Iceland is half a year or so ahead of them. I fully expect Ireland to collapse first followed by the UK sometime within the year. That's what happens when your country's debt balloons to a larger size then the country: economics 101 here. Better apply to the IMF sooner then later, as I can't help but wonder when they'll run out of money themselves.
Basically right now is the only time I'm glad to have a first past the post system. At least something like this is very unlikely in the UK, especially right now when our economy is about to follow Iceland up shit creek, paddling with only its hands.
See, I can't understand posts like this. How can one admit the UK is in the same exact position and then claim it's different? The fact is the UK as well as Ireland are in the exact same position as Iceland, just that Iceland is half a year or so ahead of them. I fully expect Ireland to collapse first followed by the UK sometime within the year. That's what happens when your country's debt balloons to a larger size then the country: economics 101 here. Better apply to the IMF sooner then later, as I can't help but wonder when they'll run out of money themselves.
What makes US situation any different? Just asking because I thought the US had it worse than UK/Iceland.
Horus on
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
What makes US situation any different? Just asking because I thought the US had it worse than UK/Iceland.
Well I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're referring to, but the US doesn't have a parliamentary system. You elect people to fixed terms and that's the end of it. In a parliamentary system where no party has a majority, the government only lasts as long as everyone decides to let it. So in parliamentary systems governments are brought down/end at the drop of a hat so to speak.
Well jeez, didn't realize I'd take so much flack for my thread title, I didn't get to read the whole article, so I guess thats my fault. It also appears I'm unable to change it to something more accurate, so if one of you mods wants too, feel free.
Basically right now is the only time I'm glad to have a first past the post system. At least something like this is very unlikely in the UK, especially right now when our economy is about to follow Iceland up shit creek, paddling with only its hands.
See, I can't understand posts like this. How can one admit the UK is in the same exact position and then claim it's different? The fact is the UK as well as Ireland are in the exact same position as Iceland, just that Iceland is half a year or so ahead of them. I fully expect Ireland to collapse first followed by the UK sometime within the year. That's what happens when your country's debt balloons to a larger size then the country: economics 101 here. Better apply to the IMF sooner then later, as I can't help but wonder when they'll run out of money themselves.
The UK is in the same economic situation, not the same political situation.
Pretty glad I live in Australia. Our banks, with a couple of exceptions, have behaved pretty well. And we only have a national debt so that risk-free securities are profitable.
Well jeez, didn't realize I'd take so much flack for my thread title, I didn't get to read the whole article, so I guess thats my fault. It also appears I'm unable to change it to something more accurate, so if one of you mods wants too, feel free.
Also, EVE Online is pretty much going to be fucked as a result of this. Aren't they based in Ice Land?
Yes, CCP (company behind EVE Online) is based in Iceland. No, they aren't really effected by either the political or economic crises in Iceland. They do most of their business in foreign currency ($,£,€) and the actual servers are based in the UK.
Posts
For reference, the 2008 election in Canada lasted five weeks, from September 7th (Parliament dissolved) to October 14th (election day).
This isn't a big deal.
Like, at all.
Honestly it's still probably something of a concern, what with the terrible economic woes facing them.
On the black screen
Don't worry, if we go down we will make sure to take everyone down with us :twisted:
On a more serious point, it sounds like a new government coalition between the the Social Democratic Alliance Party and the left green party (with the support of the progressive party) is in making. It would rule with a minority in the Parliament though. The new prime minister would likely be for the first time a woman, who was the only minister in the late government that people were happy with.
Nothing has been written in stone yet though but we'll see how tomorrow goes.
(I hope this is understandable, i'm not good with politics and English together...)
Ég skilurðu.
Flottur.
Bjork.
And wow, was this ever a bad use of words by the Times. Congress stops working all the time in the US. Hell, during the banking disaster there were some congressmen who didn't want to convene. It's shitty, and is only going to make Iceland's economic situation worse, but the Government, in the sense of a system, has not collapsed. And yeah, I would say this is like if midterm the Obama administration broke up and somehow that required a new election for congress and president to be held.
What I am confused on is this: Do you vote for a party/coalition or an actual representative? Because in the US our Congressmen are voted as people first, so if they wanted to break away and be independent it wouldn't cause a reelection in that district/state. So really, half of the Democrats could break off and form a Liberal party and it wouldn't change anything until the next elections. It seems like voting for a party is a terrible idea which we sort of do for President and I'm not fond of it.
Our prime minister was chancellor for a decade or so before taking over, and STILL denies it's his fault that everything has hit the fan.
How is this a "collapse?"
"Uh, I have never said that you are not good at what you do. It's just that what you do is not worth doing." -S.C.
Edit: as for the questions about the voting system, I can't really answer that due to never having voted (will change in May).
The downside is that all senior bureocratic posts are held by people with decades of experience.
See, I can't understand posts like this. How can one admit the UK is in the same exact position and then claim it's different? The fact is the UK as well as Ireland are in the exact same position as Iceland, just that Iceland is half a year or so ahead of them. I fully expect Ireland to collapse first followed by the UK sometime within the year. That's what happens when your country's debt balloons to a larger size then the country: economics 101 here. Better apply to the IMF sooner then later, as I can't help but wonder when they'll run out of money themselves.
What makes US situation any different? Just asking because I thought the US had it worse than UK/Iceland.
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Well I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're referring to, but the US doesn't have a parliamentary system. You elect people to fixed terms and that's the end of it. In a parliamentary system where no party has a majority, the government only lasts as long as everyone decides to let it. So in parliamentary systems governments are brought down/end at the drop of a hat so to speak.
You can if you click edit on the first post.
Yes, CCP (company behind EVE Online) is based in Iceland. No, they aren't really effected by either the political or economic crises in Iceland. They do most of their business in foreign currency ($,£,€) and the actual servers are based in the UK.