There was once a bank, Icesave, which was formally established in Iceland but did most of its business through websites in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It promised savers to pay higher interests than other banks.
Then came the crash and bank broke down. The savers money was gone. The governments of Britain and the Netherlands were fast to promise their national Iceland saver a full return of their money. They expected the government of Iceland to pay that money back to them even before they bother to ask it. The UK used anti-terrorism rules to size the bank's assets.
The government of Iceland negotiated a deal with the other governments, essentially promising that Iceland's taxpayers would pay whatever they asked for, and pressed the parliament to agree to it. It did but the president of Iceland vetoed the law. It was put to a referendum and the people of Iceland rejected it.
A second round of negotiation happened but today the results were again voted down by the people:
Many Icelanders feel they should not have to pay for the mistakes of their banking elite, who made deals around the world during a decade of boom before the credit crunch struck.
Indeed. Many people elsewhere, likely high majorities, feel just the same. I hail the Icelanders for setting this example of sound thinking and peoples will. Let's hope that other people will learn from this.