Icelandic consuls
Speech by the Prime Minister of Iceland at a banquet
in honour of Icelandic consuls at Hótel Ísland, 3 September 2001
Icelandic version
Honourable Consuls, your spouses and families.
The government of Iceland is certainly delighted that so many of you have found room in your busy agendas to visit Iceland. Of course we welcome all our guests, but such a term hardly applies to you. You belong to Iceland rather than being its guests, since you are Iceland's outposts throughout the world. The French are right proud of their foreign legion, which is considered a tough army capable of facing up to any challenge. As a country without weapons, Iceland has neither home legions nor foreign legions that march under its flag. Yet the Icelandic flag is still flown far and wide, and we have been fortunate to have such capable standard-bearers as you. For that we are deeply grateful.
Consuls' meetings are a relatively recent event in Iceland and their importance is steadily growing. They give us the opportunity to forge closer bonds. At the same time we can use them to show you a small gesture of our gratitude and also to arm you with new supplies of knowledge and information about the Icelandic interests and policies that you have undertaken to promote as best you can. We try to keep you informed about the successes that have been achieved in Iceland in recent years, but in doing so we run the risk of self-congratulation and vanity which is not attractive from any nation, and not least small nations like ours. But you will take a tolerant view of this, because you know the reason, namely the short time we have to gather up everything worth telling and add it to your store of knowledge, which you can then dispense in smaller portions over a longer period.
There is no denying that Iceland's name, history and nature, economic framework and progress have been put across more effectively in recent years. There are very many reasons for this which we will be discussing at our presentations here, but one reason has been your energetic work, for which we are very thankful.
Although Iceland is a prosperous country today with living standards on a par with the best in the world, it has not know times of plenty until quite recently. For centuries, the Icelanders lived in hardship, and were steeled by the harsh terms set by the merciless forces of nature. This made people tougher, and they tended to say little, but the little they said was memorable. An old farmer once went to the capital to consult a learned doctor who had studied for years at foreign universities. The doctor examined the farmer all over, then after giving a long account of his condition he told the farmer he only had two weeks left to live. The farmer stood up and, as he was leaving, he said that if he only had two weeks left to live he'd like to take one week in May and the other in September, because those were the busiest times on the farm. And the old man lived on for many years afterwards.
For centuries, people in Iceland took rather too seriously a proverb in the ancient poem Hávamál, which says: "Speak what needs to be said, or stay silent." As a rule, politicians find it difficult to follow that advice. One exception was President Coolidge of the United States of America, who was most famous for how little he said; and it was no easy task to get the President to speak a single word. An elegant woman who was seated next to him at a dinner once had to put up with the fact the President did not say a word to her all evening. Eventually she lost her patience and said: Mister President, you really must say something, because I made a bet with my friend that I could get you to say at least three words to me. The President looked at the woman and said: You lose.
Ladies and Gentlemen. On occasions such as this, in the company of such fine people who are helping Iceland's cause, we must surely look to the future. Our aim is to continue on the path that has proved so successful. Iceland has everything it takes to remain in the forefront. The economy is strong and the forces of nature, which once were only a heavy burden for the nation to bear, have now been harnessed in our service. Renewable clean energy is our key to the future. But economic performance is not everything. We need to ensure a just society, one which creates good opportunities for the strong without entitling them to trample on those who are less fortunate. The great poet W. H. Auden was interested in Iceland and in 1937, after visiting the country, he wrote in his book Letters from Iceland: "There is less apparent class distinction in Iceland than in any other capitalist country." Then, 22 years later, the poet says in his Iceland revisited: "Fortunate island / Where all men are equal / but not vulgar – not yet."
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Our aim is to manage things so well that poets can continue to pay Iceland and its people such a splendid tribute.