Almost a year has passed since all three of Iceland's large commercial banks collapsed within the space of little more than a week, forcing the country's economy into severe financial turmoil. After months of intense crisis management, rescue endeavours are giving way to restructuring efforts, while everyone remains conscious of persistent risks to the economy and the financial system.
These efforts are guided by a political focus on equality and social justice, avoiding neoliberal excesses and rebuilding the Nordic welfare model, which has been undermined in recent years. For the purpose of reconstruction and stabilisation, we have sought extensive assistance from and co-operation with the international community, not least through credit provided by other Nordic countries, Poland and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to strengthen our currency reserves.
