In case you missed it with all the chaos and violence in Bangkok — global financial markets are in melt-down. Iceland, among others, is apparently bearing the brunt of this change of economic temperature. Having a quick scout around today’s news I was struck by a portion of this article from The Times. With the title “Iceland: the land of cool turns bitter” it notes:

Professor Thorvaldur Gylfason of Reykjavik University has been predicting disaster for years – on his desk sit wooden blind and deaf monkeys, representing central bank policymakers – and has been shunned for his efforts. “We have Thai-style croneyism that has failed the system,” he says. “The Government is not on top of the situation. It is in denial and has not been truthful about the system.”

I don’t know anything much about Icelandic-style croneyism but perhaps some New Mandala readers do. I am just wondering if this is a fair comparison? It is a cute line, for sure, but is Thailand really the global exemplar of “croneyism”? The Professor seems to think so. Is there something about economic action in the land of the Thai and the land of Ice that, in fact, ties them together?