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 .