ABSTRACT
In this October 6th, 2008 speech, Iceland’s Prime Minister, Geir Haarde, announced on national television the implementation of emergency laws. This implementation underscored the seriousness of the economic crisis, as the laws allowed Iceland’s government to liquidate the three major commercial banks – notably, banks that had been privatized only five years earlier (Sigurjónsson and Mixa 2011). Things had happened so fast, as Guðný stated in her interview with me when talking about the rise of the banks. The bankruptcy of Iceland happened even faster. The prime minister’s speech stressed serenity, family, national unity and the importance of holding on to hope for the future. This themes in this speech would alone have told anyone that here was a good reason to be concerned.
