19 sources come forward: An industry has for years run a “modern oligarchy” in Iceland

Just decided to remind this, it is good to remind the country that a modern oligarchy reigns here.

As stated in the detailed coverage of the Danish newspaper Berlingske in April this year, where 19 interviewees came forward, for years the large-scale fishing industry has acted as "a modern oligarchy”. The article also states that there is a direct line between the Independence Party and the big industry in parliament.
When a small group controls the resources, the administration and the media environment for their own interests, it is nothing more than a concentration of power. This can no longer be dismissed as some kind of conspiracy theory; the facts are there and independent parties all paint the same picture.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about all of this was when Daði Már admitted this to a journalist Berlingskebut backtracked just days later, claiming it was "no corruption in Iceland, it would only be in Namibia". This alone should make us think, what happened in between? Did Daði get a call from the company? Did he get a warning? I have thought about this for a long time

Recently, a report from the University of Iceland’s Institute of Economics appeared, which RÚV covered, which shows this in black and white.

– The largest fisheries in the country had more than 406 billion ISK in other companies by the end of 2024 (this happens after the administration of Sigmund Davíð and Bjarna reduced the fishing fee significantly after they came to power in 2013). Although the compression of power was happening a long time ago. Then this decision of theirs did not improve the game, and in fact if they had not done this we would have been able to use the money we received from the resource to build the community at this time.

– The fishing companies own almost 129 billion ISK in other Icelandic companies outside the fishing industry and have pumped hundreds of billions into investments across society. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

When the profits from the nation’s collective resources are used to buy up infrastructure, transportation, hotels, oil companies, real estate, insurance companies, and the media, which can directly affect democratic elections, we are no longer talking about a free market. This is pure and simple concentration of power and yes oligarchism.

We had the opportunity to significantly shake up the system by seeing an agreement with the EU, but the people decided to reject it. So now we just have to do it ourselves, as is the famous word. We need massive system changes, a new constitution and a settlement. It is simply a necessary defense of democracy and the public interest.

Edit: We also need to stop shooting the messenger. Power and money are particularly good at playing the victim, changing the narrative and making the messenger look like the bad guy. We saw it clearly in the Samherja case/Namibia case in 2019 when journalists were brutally attacked and their reputations were destroyed. There, Samherji’s PR agencies and others managed to sidestep the debate and make them the culprits. Let’s listen to the whistleblowers and those who try to warn us. The Samherja case is one of the clearest examples in contemporary Icelandic history of how powerful PR agencies and resources were used to sidestep the debate, attack the whistleblower and try to make the journalists of Kveik and Stundar "the “bad guys” in the story. When the facts of the case itself cannot be refuted, the person who tells the story (the journalist or the informant) is attacked. The goal is to undermine his credibility so that the public begins to doubt the messenger rather than the message. This is a well-known tactic of power, money, big business and politicians called "Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender"where they try to turn the tables and present themselves as a target "of unfair attacks” or "persecution” from the media.