Icelanders viewed the move as cheap domestic politics by Gordon and say his words caused a worldwide run on the entire banking industry here, which had been the source of Iceland's great wealth.
One man stopped his morning swim in a pool heated by volcanic steam to interject: "Gordon Brown better not come on vacation here. He's made George Bush seem like an all right guy." (Liberal Iceland is not fond of Bush.)
Icelanders are optimistic but what choice do they -- or any of us -- have? Some here think they have lost the bulk of, or all of, their savings. Some say they have money in the bank but can't access it. A lot of Icelanders say they never had money anyway so now everyone is equal.
Waiting is what most Icelanders are doing right now. Waiting to see whether the world will remember that this highly educated island with a wealth of natural resources still exists.
Whatever the outcome people here say, "We've survived worse." Iceland is waiting to see how much worse it gets.
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