Marianne Sivertsen Næss, Norway’s Minister of Fisheries at the Barcelona Fisheries Fair. Source: VB
Neither Norway nor Iceland are members of the European Union or candidates for membership.
The two Scandinavian countries have different approaches to solving pressing domestic problems and positioning themselves on the international stage. Iceland’s immature government prioritises participation in EU meetings over promoting its own seriously troubled economy.
The Norwegian Minister of Fisheries is strong in marketing at the Barcelona Fisheries Fair. No Icelandic government minister attended the fair, preferring to attend a round-table meeting in Brussels
Marianne Sivertsen Næss, Norway’s Minister of Fisheries, visited the Barcelona Fisheries Fair, which was held on May 6–8. There, she used the time to meet with partner countries and introduce the Norwegian fisheries industry. The Minister had invited Norwegian participants to a special consultation meeting on how to protect the interests of the industry in these difficult times in international trade.
Undermining Value Creation
Politicians and the business community should join forces to secure the interests of the export sectors in the face of increasingly fierce international competition.
It is clear that Icelandic leaders could learn a lot from the Norwegians in this regard. Politicians like Marianne Sivertsen Næss have a real interest in the nation’s export sectors and understand how important they are.
They show up when it matters. The ministers of Kristrún Frostadóttir’s government do not. It is a different story when pointless meetings are called in Brussels–then they run hand in hand for the most direct route to the next Icelandair plane.
But it can only be seen that this is one of the Norwegian paths that the Icelandic government is less than ready to follow.
Neither Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, Minister of Industry and Innovation, nor other government ministers saw any reason to attend this important annual fisheries exhibition.
This is actually not particularly strange, given that government ministers seem primarily interested in taxing value creation—and thus undermining it.
Inspiration from the Jóhanna Government
In this regard, Kristrún Frostadóttir’s government seems to draw inspiration from the left-wing government of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir.
That government explicitly viewed the business community as its enemy. Such a mindset among politicians is expensive—and not conducive to creating better living conditions and prosperity for its citizens.
Source: VB (in Icelandic)