The new mayor of Reykjanesbæjar has directed the directors of all the town’s institutions to raise the Icelandic flag at the institution’s premises.
This is what Vilhjálmur Árnason, who recently took over as mayor, says in an interview with mbl.is.
The new majority of the town council had already raised the flag at the town’s town hall, and in addition, the flag is flying at all access roads into the town. It is therefore safe to say that the town is now covered with the Icelandic flag.
Please do not take down the flag
Vilhjálmur says it is important to him that the flag be visible in the town.
“This has been a focus issue in order to create a beautiful and pleasant approach to the town, and the Icelandic flag is a symbol of unity and pride for us Icelanders.”
The directors of the institutions have been given time until June 17 to raise the flag and they have been asked not to take it down after the National Day.
The town attracted attention for the writing
Changes were recently made to the flag law, which means that the Icelandic flag can now be flown 24 hours a day during the summer season.
Vilhjálmur worked on the drafting of the bill when he was chairman of the Constitution and Control Committee of Alþingi, but the bill makes flagging considerably simpler.
“The change in the flag law helps a lot. I’m a little happy that I got to do it, this was one of my final tasks in the parliament. There has been much more flying than before, just in my street I think there are three or four flags. I flew the flag right away on May 1 at my house and I haven’t taken the flag down,” says the mayor.
The trigger for the bill was an article written by Steinþór Jónsson, the owner of Hotel Keflavíkur, in Morgunblaðin in October last year, but he encouraged members of parliament to make changes to the law.
