The Socialist Party urges the public to get rid of the government

The Socialist Party of Iceland demands that Bjarni Benediktsson resign as minister. Bjarni is responsible for the sale of the public's share in Íslandsbanki, which various reviews and investigations have shown to be characterized by recklessness and an inability to comply with laws and good customs. Bjarni must therefore resign. Socialists completely reject the claims of Bjarni and other ministers that Bjarni has taken responsibility for the failed sale by moving to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministers' claims of such show that they have no idea what responsibility is.In a democratic society, it is important that the government governs in line with the will of the people, the public. The current government goes against the will of a large majority of the public in almost all important matters. The sale of the public's share in Íslandsbanki clearly exposes this. According to polls, a large majority of the public did not want to sell the bank. An overwhelming majority was dissatisfied with how the sale was conducted. Most voters wanted Bjarni to resign and not take a seat in the government again.Despite this, the government intends to sell the bank, and Bjarni remains firmly in place. The government seems to consider itself shielded against the will of the public. Its leaders regularly hold self-congratulatory meetings where they express confidence in each other, even though the nation does not trust them at all. It is as if the ministers have become completely immune to the will of the public, believing they can ignore protests, opinion polls, petitions, and national referendums—everything that highlights the will and stance of the public.Against the will of the public, the ministers put forward the demands of capital. If capital wants to own a bank, then a bank shall be sold. If capital wants to maintain scarcity and usury in the housing market, then its will shall be yielded to. If capital wants to own the fishing grounds, then they shall be given to it. If capital wants to take over the healthcare and education systems, then privatization and outsourcing shall be pursued. If capital wants to pay less tax, then its tax shall be lowered, even if it leads to a deficit in the state treasury and ever-higher interest payments that cripple the state treasury's ability to maintain public services and build infrastructure. If capital wants to maintain the poverty of tenants, low-income individuals, disabled people, single parents, the elderly, and immigrants, then these numerous groups shall be kept at poverty levels while the wealthiest are supported with handouts.The government has created a system where Morgunblaðið, Samherji, and Ísfélagið í Vestmannaeyjum receive high subsidies from the state treasury. Public funds are used to increase the power and wealth of capital, but diminish the strength and resilience of the public and their advocacy organizations.In the Socialists' address,Let's tackle the roots of corruption, it states, among other things:"The greatest and worst corruption we are dealing with in Iceland is a result of extensive and diverse vested interests between political life and financial power that have been allowed to thrive for far too long under the cloak of secrecy and lies. Vested interests that revolve around and are based on mutual favors, cronyism, and private privatization."These special interest ties have corrupted the country's politics and administration, distorted the justice system and other elements of state power so much that the state, which derives its power from the people and should always and only protect their interests, now prioritizes the interests of the few, the rich and powerful, over the interests of the many.One of the most important tasks of politics is therefore to turn the state power away from this path of special interest protection and discrimination, and to protect the entire society, all the public, and especially those who are most powerless, receive the least, and own nothing, from the corruption of those in power and special interest groups.Where there is such a short distance between state and municipal authorities and the wealthy, owners and managers of large corporations and their interest groups, as is the case in this country, there is extremely fertile ground for corruption. And corruption thrives nowhere better than where there are close ties between powerful political parties and politicians and large corporations and their interest groups."The current government serves capital and works against the interests of the public. Ministers endorse all demands of the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise but none of those put forward by labor organizations. The government has plans to increase the powers of the state mediator so much that he can call off strikes, the public's most important tool of struggle. The government has sided with capital in the class struggle, wanting to move society even further towards the autocracy of capital.This policy has stripped the government of public trust. It lacks a public mandate and works against the public's interests. The Socialist Party urges the public to cast off this government. In a democracy, the public is the source of power. A government that works against the will of the public in every respect is in fact staging a coup. The public can only reclaim its power by bringing down this government. It is not enough, but it is a step.Drafted and approved at a joint meeting of the Executive Board (Framkvæmdastjórn) and the Policy Board (Málefnastjórn) of the Socialist Party.