Her duties, which are essentially honorary, have little to do with those of her French counterpart. But she intends to make her voice heard: “I don’t want to be a president who has all the answers, but one who asks the right questions and brings people together.”Halla Tomasdottir confides in WorldShe will be passing through Paris on Wednesday 28 August to attend the Paralympic Games, which will run until 8 September. On 2 June, the 55-year-old businesswoman, who is not affiliated with any party, was elected President of Iceland with 34.1% of the vote, thanks to a campaign that focused in particular on the mental health of young people and the role of artificial intelligence.
Her atypical career stands out among the local political class: educated in the United States, she made a career in the private sector, notably at Mars and PepsiCo, before returning to Reykjavik to teach in the early 2000s, then to the country on the verge of sinking into a brutal financial crisis, she co-founded Audur Capital, an investment company that promotes feminine values in finance, values that she now intends to instil in the political sphere. “At that time, the financial sector was ten times larger than the gross domestic product. [PIB] : this represented a huge riskremember. The pursuit of short-term profits dominated to the detriment of everything else. We created Audur Capital with a more inclusive, transparent and long-term strategy, better measuring risk. »
Since then, Halla Tomasdottir has promoted a ” update ” of capitalism. “One of my great regrets is that we have not learned enough lessons from the great crisis of 2008.explains. We live in a system largely inspired by the work of Milton Friedman. [1912-2006, l’économiste inspirateur du néolibéralisme]which has long ceased to produce common value: inequalities are increasing worldwide. The frantic pursuit of profits at the expense of the climate and well-being is unsustainable. »
“Flexibility and resilience”
In particular, it advocates the establishment of high environmental and transparency standards for companies, clear regulations established by States, as well as a new approach to governance. “In an era of widespread distrust of institutions, it is no longer possible for governments and businesses to act in isolation, without inviting civil society to sit at the table.” Greater diversity of profiles at the helm, especially women, is also essential, he insists. “They bring a different perspective, because their life experience is different.” Like young people, they are more concerned about climate and well-being than previous generations.
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