Forsetinn gefur þjóðinni aðgang að beinu lýðræði í gegnum forsetaembættið.

Í dag er mikill gleðidagur fyrir lýðræðissinna á Íslandi sem hljóta að fagna þeim lýðræðisumbótum sem forsetinn hefur endanlega innleitt hér á landi. Með því að forsetinn synjar nú lögum staðfestingar í annað sinn á fimm árum eftir að hafa fengið um það tugþúsundir áskorana þá höfum við Íslendingar eignast í dag gríðarleg lýðræðisréttindi. Við höfum fengið staðfestingu á því að lýðréttindi sem við áttum ekki fyrir örfáum árum, slík réttindi eigum við í dag. Forsetinn hefur opnað þjóðinni leið að beinu lýðræði í gegnum forsetaembættið og ákvæði  Stjórnarskrárinnar um málskotsrétt forseta.

Það að forsetinn hefur ákveðið að fara að óskum 25% atkvæðisbærra manna í landinu og senda Icesave lögin í þjóðaratkvæðagreiðslu er mikill sigur fyrir lýðræðið í landinu.

Það fólk sem ég hlustaði á í hádegisfréttum útvarpsins og gagnrýndi harklega þessa ákvörðun forseta, það fólk verður að átta sig á því að það á ekki að beina gagnrýni sinni að forsetanum. Þetta fólk á að gagnrýna fjórða hvern kjósanda í þessu landi. Þetta fólk á að gagnrýna þessa 25% kjósenda sem skoruðu á forsetann að vísa málinu til þjóðarinnar.

Vilji menn gagnrýna forsetann fyrir eitthvað þá á að gagnrýna hann fyrir að opna þjóðinn leið að beinu lýðræði í gegnum forsetaembættið.

• En er það ekki einmitt það sem þjóðin hefur verið að kalla eftir?
• Að geta kosið beint um ákveðin mál?
• Að þjóðin geti kallað eftir að ákveðin mál verði sett í þjóðaratkvæði?

Forsetinn hefur nú orðið við þessari ósk og gert forsetaembættið að farvegi fyrir beint lýðræði í landinu. Ég fagna því og það hljóta allir lýðræðissinnar að gera.

Auðvita á ekki að skipta máli hvaða mál er "tækt" í slíka atkvæðagreiðslu. Það eitt skiptir máli að ef 10% til 20% þjóðarinnar óskar eftir að fá að kjósa um málið þá á þjóðin að fá að kjósa um málið. Út á það gengur lýðræði. Þjóðin á að fá að ráða.

Þar fyrir utan þá er ábyrgðin á því að þetta Icesave mál er komið í þessa stöðu ekki á ábyrgð forsetans. Ábyrgðin á því að þetta mál er komið í þessa stöðu er tveim aðilum að kenna:

Í fyrsta lagi er ábyrgðin ríkisstjórnarinnar. Ábyrgðin er ríkisstjórnarinnar að hafa farið fram með þannig mál að 25% kjósenda rís upp á afturlappirnar og heimtar þjóðaratkvæðagreiðslu.

Í öðru lagi er ábyrgðin Breta og Hollendinga sem hafa gengið allt of hart fram í þessum samningum og breytt samningi sem átti að vera hefðbundinn milliríkjasamningur í það að vera nauðasamningur. Nauðasamningur sem þeir vissu að stór hluti þjóðarinnar gæti aldrei sætt sig við. Af hverju Bretar og Hollendingar völdu að niðurlægja okkur Íslendinga eins og gert er í þessum Icesave samningi er mér óskiljanlegt. Bretar og Hollendingar geta sjálfir kennt sér um hvernig þetta mál er nú komið.

Mynd: Kálfstindur er næst og Eldborg til hægri. Sér yfir á Hlöðufell og Þórisjökul. Aftan við Þórisjökul til vinstri er Ok en Geitlandsjökull til hægri. Langjökull nyrst. 

 

Staðfestir ekki Icesave-lög

The President of Iceland has the Executive Power .

Politicians in Iceland are now trying to downgrade the power that the Icelandic Constitution has trusted to The President of Iceland. According to the Constitution the President has the Executive power in Iceland. The Constitution of Iceland, paragraph 21, also specifically instructs that it is the President of Iceland that has the authority in Iceland to sign contracts with foreign States. It is clear that many politicians here in Iceland do not like that The Constitution put so much power to the President. They want to have neutral President that allows them to go on whit their own business, even though 70% of the population is against their decisions and 25% of Voters in Iceland has pleaded to the President to stop these politicians. The politicians want to have here Presidents like the former presidents were. President that never did use the powers the Constitution trusted them for. We have to go back to President Sveinn Björnsson to find Icelandic President that did use his powers. Sveinn Björnsson was the first president of the Republic of Iceland, 1944 – 1952. He was a very active President like the one we have now.

Because of these inactive and neutral President for over four decades it has become as a surprise to politicians here in Iceland when our present President has used for the first time his powers according to the Constitution 2004 and intervened with affairs of the Icelandic cabinet and refused to sign laws regarding the media after 32.0000 Icelanders had signed a pelage to him. Until 2004 The Ministers in Iceland had had their ways for so many years and never had to answer to anyone except to their own parties. The Ministers in Iceland had always been on top of things, always on the top of the food chain when their party was selecting their candidates.

According to the Icelandic Constitution the Parliament and the President have the power to set laws and legislation in Iceland. The Parliament sets the law and the President has to accept these laws. If the President refuses to accept these laws the Parliament has to take it back or send these laws for a special national election where these laws are voted upon.

In Iceland the Parliament has the legislation power. In Iceland the Parliament and Parliament Member have, according to the Constitution, no Execution power. The President has the Execution power. The President chooses / accepts Cabinet Member and they take their powers from him. The President has the power to put them in Office and he has the power to make them resign. In The Constitution there is no mention of that Cabinet Member have to be a Parliament Members. On the contrary, today there are two members of the Cabinet that are not Parliament Members, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Business and Banks. These two have never been active in politics and have never run for Office.

During this four decades when the President of Iceland was neutral in Office, the President and the Prime Minister had their offices together in the same small building, the Old Prison at Lækjargata, where we still keep our Prime Minister. The President has moved his offices to another location. During these decades where the President and the Prime Minister where in the same building and sheared the same office the President of Iceland was not very visible and he never utilized his powers. The Prime Ministers that where in Office during these decades where both efficient and hard working. These Prime Ministers they gradually took over the President Office and the Powers of the President and they made these powers their own.  The public and the President where told that the President should be a Figure of State and a Union Symbol for the country and let the fairs of the State to the Prime Ministers and other Ministers that should all be Parliament Members. This is not how thing should be according to the Constitution.

These former Presidents that let this happened and drained the President Office of its power and handed it over to the Cabinet that during this time were all Parliament member, these Presidents are responsible for that here in Iceland the Executive Power and the Legislation Power blended together and has become one power. This mixture, the Executive power and the Legislation power is today in the hands of the Cabinet and its Ministers. This becomes even more tragic when it is informed that it is the Minister og Justice that decides which Judges are to be hired in all the Courts in Iceland. All Judges in Iceland are politically handpicked by a political power that has engulfed both the Execution Powers and the Legislations Powers here in Iceland. The separation of powers as we know it from the time of ancient Greece has almost washed out here in Iceland. This has results in an unprecedented power held by the Minister in the Cabinet. Especially have party leaders in the Cabinet become powerful. It is them that decide which Parliament Members they take into the Cabinet as Minister. These Ministers have full control of the Parliament and all the Executive Powers of the President. A perfect dream for a politician.

To fight this the people of Iceland have but one alternative. The President we elect every four year has to live up to his role in the Constitution. When the Parlament and the Cabinent has faild us it is through the Constitutional power of the President we now try to stop this unacceptable Icesave contract. 25% of all Voters in Iceland have pledged to the President to stop this nonsense.

Demands for renewing the Constitution getting clear definition where the Execution power is separated from the Legislation power is growing louder and louder.

Pitchure: Jarlhettur, Hagavant and Langjökull .