SOTU, Icelandic-style

Okay, Iceland isn't really a union, but there's clearly much more to it than Bjork and Sigur Ros...

Over at Scriptoids, a good blog that I've only recently discovered but will certainly continue to read, Grace Nearing links to (and quotes extensively from) a recent policy address by the Rt. Hon. Halldor Asgrimsson, Prime Minister of Iceland.

It's more or less Iceland's "State of the Union".

And it's quite incredible. It opens with poetry, but just consider how it ends: "Distinguished Speaker, the heartbeat of the nation is strong. The politician’s role is to listen and interpret this heartbeat and to clear the way to harness this power. This, I consider to be my main objective."

Is that not an exceptional explanation of the nature of democratic leadership, a brilliant expression of the democratic spirit?

Can you imagine Bush saying anything like that?

No, nor can I.

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Grace's post is here. The full text of the speech (in English) is here.