Islande : la “sagesse des foules” au secours de la Constitution Gudrun Petursdottir, présidente du Comité constitutionnel d’Islande, est venue sur la scène de Lift France nous présenter le projet assez étonnant de révision de la Constitution en cours en Islande. Comme tout le monde le sait, l’Islande a subi de plein fouet la crise économique de 2008. L’une des conséquences de ce séisme économique a été une profonde remise en cause du système politique traditionnel et le lancement d’un vaste processus de réécriture participative de la Constitution, qui attend aujourd’hui sa ratification par le Parlement. Image : Gudrun Petursdottir sur la scène de Lift, photographiée par Loup Cellard pour la Fing. L’Islande, nous a rappelé Gudrun Petursdottir dans sa présentation, est une république assez jeune. Elle a longtemps été sous la coupe de la couronne du Danemark avant de devenir indépendante en 1944. « Pour arriver à un changement, il fallait donc impliquer le public. » Le processus avait donc deux phases. Image : L’assemblée populaire islandaise par Agora.
Iceland's bizarre Icesave referendum | Alda Sigmundsdóttir This past weekend, the people of Iceland went to the polls in a referendum to vote on whether a deal should be passed to repay the British and Dutch governments for deposits lost in the Icesave online savings accounts when Iceland's Landsbanki collapsed. As the international media flocked to Iceland in the lead-up to the referendum, the phrase "theatre of the absurd" occurred. There seemed to be a popular misconception that the referendum was about far more serious things than it actually was – such as whether Iceland planned to repay the Icesave debt at all. In fact, Icelandic authorities had already committed to repaying the minimum deposit amount for each Icesave online account – the deal being voted on in the referendum merely concerned the terms of the repayment. However, what made the referendum – the first in the history of the Republic of Iceland – particularly bizarre was that there was already a deal on the table that was marginally better than the one being voted on.
UK hires extra tax collectors to police super-rich LONDON — Let the audits begin. As the U.K. tightens its belt during economic uncertainty, a senior government official said Sunday he was hiring more than 2,000 extra tax inspectors to make sure that Britain's wealthiest feel the squeeze. The British Treasury's Chief Secretary, Danny Alexander, told the Sunday Independent newspaper that his priority was "making sure that those with broadest shoulders bear their fair share of the burden." Alexander said a 100-member "affluence team" would be in place in less than a month to keep an eye on the country's wealthiest taxpayers — the estimated 350,000 people whose personal wealth exceeds 2.5 million pounds ($3.95 million). The British government's crackdown on tax evasion has already netted more than 2 billion pounds ($3 billion) a year, Alexander said, predicting that figure could rise to 7 billion pounds ($10.6 billion) a year by 2015. "Something is not right here," he told the broadcaster.
Sans nouvelles d’Islande : pourquoi ? Si quelqu’un croit qu’il n’y a pas de censure actuellement, qu’il nous dise pourquoi on a tout su au sujet de ce qui se passe en Egypte, en Syrie ou en Libye, et pourquoi les journaux n’ont absolument rien dit sur ce qui se passe en Islande ? En Islande, - le peuple a fait démissionner un gouvernement au complet, - les principales banques ont été nationalisées et il a été décidé de ne pas payer la dette contractée par ces dernières auprès de banques de Grande Bretagne et de Hollande, dette générée par leur mauvaise politique financière ; - une assemblée populaire vient d’être créée pour réécrire la Constitution. Que se passerait-il si les citoyens européens en prenaient exemple ? La situation économique désastreuse du pays persiste. - 2010 : le peuple descend à nouveau dans la rue et demande que la loi soit soumise à référendum. En janvier 2010, le Président refuse de ratifier cette loi et annonce qu’il y aura une consultation populaire. - Démission en bloc de tout un gouvernement Like this:
Eirikur Bergmann: Iceland's government is on the point of collapse as angry protesters stake out the parliament in Reykjavik Protesters gather in Reykjavik as members of parliament gathered for their first session of the new year. Photograph: Halldor Kolbeins/AFP While Barack Obama was being sworn in to office on Capitol Hill yesterday, the people of Iceland were starting the first revolution in the history of the republic. Four months after the collapse of Iceland's entire financial system, no one has accepted any responsibility. The governor of the central bank blames the risk-seeking bankers, the bankers blame the government and the prime minister attributes the whole crisis to the international credit crunch. It started in October with peaceful demonstrations. Initially the government tried to dismiss the protesters as frustrated wannabe politicians and disillusioned youngsters who did not understand the complexity of the situation. Yesterday parliament resumed for the first time after Christmas.
Spain raises taxes on the rich | Business Spain today became the latest European country to hike taxes on the wealthy, with a new asset-based tax targeting the country's richest people. Spain's socialist government hopes that the new wealth tax will raise up to €1bn in a country where growth is grinding to a halt and this year's 6% deficit target looks increasingly tough to meet. The move represents a U-turn for prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who abolished a similar wealth tax in 2008 — just before the country plunged towards recession. "The economic crisis makes it necessary to bring this tax back, applying principles of fairness so that those with bigger assets can be taxed and so those who have greater wealth can contribute more to getting the country out of the crisis," a finance ministry statement said. Spaniards with €700,000 of assets in real estate – excluding their main home – as well as in stocks and bank deposit will have to pay the new tax.
Islande - Réformer Aujourd'hui - L'Islande a terminé l’année 2011 avec une croissance économique de 2,1% et devrait, selon les prévisions de la Commission européenne, atteindre le taux de 2,7% en 2013 grâce principalement à la création de nouveaux emplois. L'Islande est le seul pays européen qui a rejeté par référendum de payer les dettes des banques privées, laissant s’effondrer certaines d’entre elles et jugeant de nombreux banquiers pour leurs crimes financiers mais curieusement les médias français et européens n’en parlent pas ou très peu… Il n’y a pas de censure officiellement dans les médias presse, radio ou télé mais les journalistes et experts de tous bords, si prompts à parler de ce qui se passe en Egypte, en Libye ou en Syrie, ne disent absolument rien sur ce qui se passe en Islande. En a-t-on parlé dans les nombreux débats politiques en vue de l’élection présidentielle ? A-t-on vu des images à la TV ? Bien sûr que non car les citoyens européens pourraient avoir la mauvaise idée de s'en inspirer...
Mob rule: Iceland crowdsources its next constitution | World news The new constitution will include checks and responsibilities for Iceland's parliament (the althing). Photograph: Brynjar Gauti/AP It is not the way the scribes of yore would have done it but Iceland is tearing up the rulebook by drawing up its new constitution through crowdsourcing. As the country recovers from the financial crisis that saw the collapse of its banks and government, it is using social media to get its citizens to share their ideas as to what the new document should contain. "I believe this is the first time a constitution is being drafted basically on the internet," said Thorvaldur Gylfason, member of Iceland's constitutional council. "The public sees the constitution come into being before their eyes … This is very different from old times where constitution makers sometimes found it better to find themselves a remote spot out of sight, out of touch." Iceland's existing constitution dates back to when it gained independence from Denmark in 1944.
Danish voters elect first female prime minister - CTV News COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Denmark has elected its first female prime minister, ousting the right-wing government from power after 10 years of pro-market reforms and ever-stricter controls on immigration. Near complete official results showed Thursday that a left-leaning bloc led by Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt would gain a narrow majority in the 179-seat Parliament. "We did it. Make no mistake: We have written history," the 44-year-old opposition leader told jubilant supporters in Copenhagen. Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen conceded defeat, saying he would present his Cabinet's resignation Friday to Queen Margrethe, Denmark's figurehead monarch. "So tonight I hand over the keys to the prime minister's office to Helle Thorning-Schmidt. The result means the country of 5.5 million residents will get a new government that could roll back some of the austerity measures introduced by Loekke Rasmussen amid Europe's debt crisis. Turnout was 87.7 per cent, up from 86.5 four years ago.
La constitution islandaise, c’est pas l’irruption La révision constitutionnelle entamée en Islande avec le concours de la population n'a pas été à la hauteur des attentes les plus enthousiastes. Mobilisation marginale, vices de forme: on est encore loin de la "démocratie de demain". Maniés avec talent, les mots peuvent donner l’illusion d’une réalité. Exploités par des experts, ils sont le moyen de faire prendre les vessies d’une démocratie qui se cherche pour les lanternes d’un processus révolutionnaire sans précédent. Ainsi, décrite comme une « e-révolution citoyenne », la révision constitutionnelle entamée il y a quelques mois en Islande avec le concours de la population de l’île a généré les descriptifs extatiques et les commentaires fébriles de nombreux médias et d’une partie de la blogosphère engagée. Un processus inédit qui pourrait préfigurer la démocratie de demain,Télérama , 23 juin 2011. Evènement peut-être plus considérable que la nuit du 4 août 1789,Parisseveille.info, décembre 2010. Une expérience… à confirmer Photos FlickR
Lessons from Iceland Image from Democracy 2.0: Iceland crowdsources new constitution June 11 2011 | ROAR Magazine In just three years, Iceland went from collapse to revolution and back to growth. Just two or three years after its economy and government collapsed, Iceland is bouncing back with remarkable strength. Now, in an historically unprecedented move, the government has decided to draft a new constitution with the online input of its citizens — essentially crowdsourcing the creation of Iceland’s real democracy. How did Iceland get from there to here? Back in 2009, months after the greatest banking collapse in economic history, the people of Iceland took to the streets en masse to denounce the reckless bankers who had caused the crisis and the clueless politicians who had allowed it to develop. Wade helps us understand what not to do. What Iceland teaches us is that it need not be that way. Further Readings
French Socialist rivals hold TV debate 16 September 2011Last updated at 02:11 Candidates spelled out how they planned to solve France's problems The six contenders for the right to stand for France's opposition Socialists at the 2012 presidential poll have held a live TV debate. The candidates were careful to avoid attacking each other and instead sought to show a common aim in ousting President Nicolas Sarkozy. However, the debate was overshadowed in the French media by the president's visit to Libya on Thursday. The Socialist candidate will be chosen at US-style primaries next month. For the first time the post will be open to any French voter with leftist leanings. Critics say the primaries campaign has lacked dynamism. The front-runners are former party boss Francois Hollande and the party's current leader, former cabinet minister Martine Aubry. Opinion polls suggest Mr Hollande has developed a clear lead over Ms Aubry. "My priorities are yours - employment, spending power, education and security," said Ms Aubry.