Category: Articles in English

An interview with Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson.

Introduction: Late November last year there was a multinational conference in Tallinn, where the major questions to be tackled were the following: Can small nations offer state services to their citizens at the same level of quantity and quality as bigger nations? Or will the relative cost (as a percentage of GDP) be too high – or even prohibitive? Do small nation face tough choices as to what services they are going to give priority? Although the central government in Tallinn accounts for a relatively small percentage of GDP, there is a growing debate in Estonia about increasing cost pressures concerning government expenditures.Is there such a thing as an optimal size of the public sector conducive to economic growth?

I was invited to speak at the conference and to participate in panel discussions. Eventually, for the sake of cost cutting, we settled for an interview which was posted on the conference web page in Estonian. What follows is the English text.

In a recent book „Ísland ehf. auðmenn og áhrif eftir hrun“ – Iceland ltd., the Oligarchs and their Influence after the Crash – (Vaka/Helgafell, 2013) the authors, Magnús Halldórsson and Þórður Snær Júlíusson, both economic analysts in the media, give an overview of the „Icelandic way“ after the crash 2008. Specifically they try to estimate the ongoing transfer of wealth and the subsequent polarization of society. In the final chapter (p.205-292) they deal with the Icelandic experience of IMF-imposed capital controls. They were meant to be a short-term fix, but have now lasted almost five years.

Vadovu Klubas: 15 year anniversary, Church of St. John´s Vilnius University, June 6th, 2013

On June 6th “Vadovu Klubas” – an association of business leaders in Lithuania – celebrated their 15 years anniversary in St. John´s Vilnius University. The president of Lithuania, Dalija Grypauskaité – a former Minister of Finance and commissioner of finance – addressed the assembly. I was invited to give a key-note speech on the ” Peaceful, Baltic Road to Freedom” and the response to it by the international community.

Since capitalists worldwide are this year celebrating the 300 years anniversary of the Scottish philosopher/economist Adam Smith, my Edinburgh University background came in handy to give my audience a few warning words on the dangers of unrestrained markets, supported by wise words from the social-democratic thinker, Tage Erlander, and the recently erected pope Francis (a former priest in the slums of Buenos Aires). While in Vilnius this spring, teaching at the university, the Lithuanians celebrated the 25 years anniversary of Sajudis, their independence movement. On June 3d, LRT (the Lithuanian public television channel) showed a new documentary on that occasion. This included an interview with me, focusing on the main events 1988-91. (This can be approached on the Internet).

Here is the text of my speech given in the Church of St. John´s, Vilnius University, on June 6th.

The editors of BALTIC STUDIES – a periodical on international affairs and politics – asked me to review an article by a Danish scholar on the policy of the Danish government (and major parties) on the Baltic nations´ struggle for their restored independence. My review was published on the Magazine´s web side. – JBH

This article is not so much about Danish support for the Baltic struggle for independence; rather it is about domestic politics – electoral maneuvers between the major parties on how they could be seen to express „small state sympathy“, without risking the wrath of the Soviet Union or the displeasure of powerful allies. It is therefore of interest, mainly for those who want to know what happened behind the scenes in Danish politics. For those who want to understand the risks and potential dangers for the Baltic nations of seceeding from the Soviet Union, it is hardly of any interest.

April 9th The Institute for International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University, held a seminar on the international financial crisis, comparing the fates of countries inside and outside the euro-zone. Main speakers were Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson, former Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Dr. Ingrida Simonité, former Minister of Finance of Lithuania and Dr. Baldur Thórhallsson, Head of the Center for Small States´ Studies at the University of Iceland. Dr. Ramunas Vilpisauskas, Head of the institute introduced the speakers, but Mr. Bo Tillberg from the Nordic Council of Ministers´ Office was moderator.

February 2 this year the Economist published a special edition on the Nordic model. The authors came to the conclusion that the Nordic model had turned out, during the era of globalization, to be the most successful socio-economic model on the planet. It combined both efficiency and prosperity. It was both the most competitive and the most egalitarian society on earth. But, neo-liberal, as the Economist is, the authors tried their best to give credit for this unique success story to Sweden´s conservatives, who have had a chance in government for a few years, to tinker with the system at the margins. But the system remains fundamentally intact.

Dagana 8. – 9. nóv. s.l. var ég heiðursgestur á þingi Eystrasaltsþjóða (Baltic Assembly), sem haldið var í Vilnius, Litháen. Þing Eystrasaltsþjóða er sömu gerðar og Norðurlandaþing. Þar hittast þingmenn, ráðherrar, embættismenn, sérfræðingar og fjölmiðlungar til að ræða sameiginleg hagsmunamál. Aðalmál þingsins var Evrópumál og samstarf Eystrasaltsþjóða (og Norðurlanda) innan Evrópusambandsins. Ég flutti þarna svokallaða stefnuræðu (key-note speech) undir heitinu:

„What´s wrong with Europe? And by the Way: Why don´t you Fix it?“

Ræðan fer hér á eftir í slenskum búningi.

The following is the text of a key-note speech given at the Baltic Assembly in Vilnius, Lithuania, on November 9th. In the speech I deal with the causes of the international financial crisis, the specifics of the euro-crisis and conclude by proposing a list of solutions. The following is the text of a key-note speech given at the Baltic Assembly in Vilnius, Lithuania, on November 9th. In the speech I deal with the causes of the international financial crisis, the specifics of the euro-crisis and conclude by proposing a list of solutions.

October 10., 2012, Mr. Brian M. Carney, editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal (Europe), published op-ed in his paper under the heading: Fishing for Trouble in Iceland. Mr. Carney had been visiting in Reykjavík, where he conferred with his neo-con colleges at the university (Hannes Hólmsteinn, Ragnar Árnason o.fl.), who are underpinning the ship-owners´ (LÍÚ) campaign against the government proposal that they be obliged under the law to pay for their exclusive access to the fishing resources in Iceland´s economic zones. Mr. Carney had been taken for a ride on this issue by his friends as evidenced by the misinformation that pervaded his article. In response I sent an article to the WSJ, seeking to correct the most blatant misinformation. On October 17th the WSJ published excerpts from my article, heavily censored.Here is the article uncensored.

Aths: Ísland greiddi atkvæði með – en Litháen gegn – aðild Palestínu að UNESCO hjá Sameinuðu þjoðunum. Af þessu tilefni hafði Ramunas Bogdanas, fyrrverandi aðstoðarmaður Landsbergis, sjálfstæðishetju Litháa, viðtal við JBH með vísan til þess, að JBH hafði frumkvæði að stuðningi alþjóðasamfélagsins við sjálfstæðisbaráttu Litháa þrátt fyrir andstöðu bæði Bandaríkjanna og Þýskalands á þeim tíma. Hvers vegna styðja Litháar þá ekki sjálfstæðisbaráttu Palestínumanna með vísan til eigin reynslu?
Viðtalið birtist á útbreiddum vefmiðli í Litháen og fékk mikla umfjöllun. Það leiddi m.a. til þess, að utanríkismálanefnd Seimas (þjóðþings Litháa) efndi til opins málþings um málið. Viðtalið fer hér á eftir óbreytt.