Iceland To Become The 52nd State, Greenland Tariffs, Prostitution & Immigration

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The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:

US Ambassador Makes An Impression
US ambassadorial nominee Billy Long, made another joke, endearing him to the Icelandic nation prior to his arrival as ambassador. Last time he made the joke that he had wanted to manage ICE, but had been misheard by Trump and instead appointed ambassador to Iceland. Last week in congress, Billy was overheard joking that he was going to become Iceland’s first governor, instead of ambassador, as Iceland became the USA’s 52nd state. This did not vote well with the Icelandic public, presuming that Greenland would become the 51st state.

Attempt At Soliciting Prostitutions Leads MP To Resign
Guðbrandur Einarsson, an MP for Viðreisn (the Reform Party), has resigned from Parliament due to an attempted purchase of prostitution in 2012. He was questioned by police at the time but says he was never charged. He decided to step down after local news outlet Vísir planned to report on the case.

Greenland Drama Continues
In an effort to put pressure on fellow NATO allies in his continued effort of gobbling up Greenland, President Trump put tariffs on all the Scandinavian countries, Germany, France and the Netherlands, but not Iceland. Promoting suggestions that Trump simply forgot Iceland.

Foreign citizens 20% of Iceland’s population
Foreign citizens living in Iceland are now 83.950, or just above 20% of the total population. Five years ago, they were 15%. The proportion of foreign nationals living in some municipalities reaches almost 70%, that is 67,4% in Vík í Myrdal, 46% in Skaftárhreppur, and 39% in Bláskógabyggð. All these municipalities are in the South of Iceland, all are popular tourist destinations. According to Statistics Iceland, at least 44% of the people working in the tourism sector, are foreign nationals. 
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The Reykjavík Grapevine is an alternative monthly magazine published in Iceland since 2003. We bringing you the news and views on Icelandic culture and society, sprinkled with music coverage, travel content, restaurant reviews and more. More on https://www.grapevine.is
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