93% of Icelanders reject Icesave bailout but government still want to pass it

Since we have been following the adventures of the Icelandic people against their failed banks and corrupt government for quite some time now, it's worth reading the post from Mish on the result of the poll along with the reaction of the government. Here are a few short quotes:

Icelanders overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would saddle each citizen with $16,400 of debt in protest at U.K. and Dutch demands that they cover losses triggered by the failure of a private bank, first results show.

Ninety-three percent voted against the so-called Icesave bill [...]

Political leaders have already moved on and are trying to negotiate a new deal with the U.K. and the Dutch, making the bill in today’s vote “obsolete,” Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said on March 4. [...]

"It's of utmost importance that we don't over-interpret whatever message comes out of this. We want to be perfectly clear that a "no" vote does not mean we are refusing to pay," Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson told reporters. [...]

Mish to conclude: What's highly dangerous is the attitude that the wishes of 93% of the people is irrelevant.

Previous related posts:

• 2010-02-26 Iceland Walks Out of Icesave Talks
• 2010-01-06 Icelandics won't be forced to bailout the UK and NL