Ombudsman Surprised by Father's Inclusion in Euro Debate

Children's ombudsman Salvör Nordal has voiced her surprise and disagreement over former Prime Minister Þorsteinn Pálsson's inclusion of her father, the late Jónas Nordal, in a recent debate on Iceland potentially adopting the euro. Pálsson, in an opinion piece, referenced writings by Jónas Nordal from the early 1990s to support his argument that the costs of maintaining the Icelandic króna outweigh its benefits. He suggested that Nordal, a former Central Bank governor, had previously arrived at similar conclusions regarding currency options.

However, Salvör Nordal countered that it is speculative to assume how economists from past decades would view current reports and analyses. She emphasized that much has changed in Iceland and Europe over the years. Nordal also found it particularly inappropriate for Pálsson to cite writings from 1991, eight years before the euro's official introduction, as justification for adopting the currency in the present economic climate.

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It is difficult to say what views Jóhannes, Jónas and other economists of the past would have on a new report on currencies and whether they would agree with the analysis, or the conclusion, as much has changed in recent years or decades, both here at home and in Europe.

Pálsson's article argued that the cost of the króna is greater than its benefits and that arguments for a flexible exchange rate are weaker than euro adoption opponents suggest. He also referenced economist Jónas H. Haralz as holding similar views. Salvör Nordal stated in a Facebook post that her father had repeatedly expressed his view that Iceland should not adopt the euro, making Pálsson's selective use of his past writings questionable in the current discussion.

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It is also inappropriate that Þorsteinn refers to Jóhannes' writings from 1991, eight years before the euro was introduced, as an argument for adopting the euro in today's situation.