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There can be little doubt that Iceland was the greatest casualty of the global financial crisis of 2008-09. There was a run on the nation's banks, which caused all three of them to go bankrupt. Unemployment has skyrocketed and inflation has risen sharply because of a plunge in the value of the currency. McDonald's has closed its three restaurants on the island because of the high cost of importing food supplies.

The crisis has also left a legacy of debt. The European Union wants Reykjavik to repay retail depositors in the UK and the Netherlands for $5.6bn (£3.4bn, €4bn) they had deposited in Icelandic banks. As Iceland is trying to join the European Union its parliament agreed to pay , but the president vetoed the bill because of public anger. Sixty thousand people...