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| Europe | |
| Icelandic government brought down by credit crunch | |
| 2009-01-24 | |
| The government of Iceland today became the first to be effectively brought down by the credit crunch. After several nights of rioting over the financial crisis, Prime Minister Geir Haarde, surrendered to increasing pressure and called a general election for May. A poll would not normally be held until 2011. Haarde also revealed that he had been diagnosed with a malignant tumour of the oesophagus and would not seek re-election. 'I have decided not to seek re-election as leader of the Independence Party at its upcoming national congress,' he told a news conference.
Critics wanted Haarde, the central bank governor and other senior officials to resign. Some senior figures in his party have also said they favour an early election, but Haarde had up to now vowed to defy plunging popularity and stay on. Protests had been held weekly since the crisis broke last year, but since Tuesday have been held every night. On Thursday, police used teargas on demonstrators for the first time since protests against the North Atlantic island's entry into the NATO alliance in 1949. Special forces had to rescue Haarde from his car after he was surrounded by an furious mob hurling eggs and cans outside the government offices, in Reykjavik. The seething crowd spattered the building with paint and yoghurt, yelling and banging pans, hurling fireworks and flares at the windows and even lighting a fire in front of the main doors. 'There were a couple of hundred (protesters) when they had to use the gas,' police spokesman Gunnar Sigurdsson said. 'It went on for two hours or so. There were no arrests. Some injuries, but not serious.' Latvia, Bulgaria and other European countries hit hard by the global economic meltdown have also seen unrest. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |