Iceland Population Votes Not To Pay Back UK and Netherlands - please explain why the population voted as they did

[Earlybird]

I can't fathom their point of view, and feel cranky about it. Isn't it fairly straightforward - the money was loaned, and now it must be paid back?

Why did it go to a public vote, and why did the population vote 'no'?

Do the people of Iceland have a valid point, or are they ungrateful folks we shouldn't rush to help again?

I'm sure it is much more complicated than that.......but how in the world can they say NO?

News story this morning:

'Icelanders have voted overwhelmingly against paying back Britain and the Netherlands for their £3.4bn bailout of Icesave customers after the bank collapsed in 2008. Iceland's government says it will continue to negotiate to pay back the money even though 93 per cent voted 'no' in a referendum.'

As FiveOrangePips posted - would we be willing to find 20,000 quid each to refund investors in some UK bank that we had previously had no link with.

I can see that with their own economy in a critical state the extra demand on them to repay (with interest) is bound to leave a nasty taste in the mouth! They are looking to use the Euro in the future and need some stability for a few years, but economic growth is probably at an all-time low over there.

Tourism and fishing are (I think) the two main sources of income, and bet that imported goods are costly there, because almost anything coming in by air is always expensive, and the demand for some items will always be low, as well as it being off the main routes for container shipping.

Report Finds Iceland Authorities Negligent Over Banking Collapse:

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8616113.stm

Does this report shed any new light on what should happen now? Should the government and population now be obliged to repay the bailout monies?