Courageous Iceland will vote against repaying UK and Netherlands for financial sector mistakes in referendum, poll suggests - by David Teather

Almost two-thirds of people in Iceland are expected to vote against repaying a €3.8bn (£3.4bn) debt to Britain and the Netherlands to compensate for the money lost in Icesave accounts, according to a poll published today. Ministers are expected to meet their Icelandic counterparts, possibly as early as tomorrow, after the tiny nation's finance minister spoke to the chancellor, Alistair Darling, to reassure him that it was committed to meeting its obligations. After a cabinet meeting, Steingrímur Sigfússon told reporters in Iceland: "I've had talks with the UK finance minister and the Dutch finance minister today because of this issue. [The talks] have been amicable and the tone less sharp than in the debate here at home." The Icelandic government has set 20 February as the date for the vote and recalled parliament to deal with the crisis.

Note EU-Digest: the Iceland population and their President, Olafur Grímsson, must be complimented for their courageous stand against the local financial sector and for not willing to pay for their mistakes. If the EU and US Governments had dared to hold referendums on the bank bailouts the vote would have been the same as it will be in Iceland. A resounding no.

For report: Iceland will vote against repaying UK and Netherlands in referendum, poll suggests | Business | The Guardian