"I know it's a strong statement, especially coming from someone who spent most of his life within those institutions. But the power of the social media is, in my opinion, transforming the political process in such a way that I can't see any chance for the traditional, formal institutions of our democratic systems to keep up."
The statement comes after years of hardship for Iceland, which suffered the collapse of its financial system in 2008 and a massive 2010 volcano eruption that shut down international travel in the region. The country saw widespread political protests during this period, leading Grimsson to say Iceland was the example that Egyptians and now the global Occupy Wall Street movements followed.
Grimsson, an even-spoken figure with Bill-Clinton hair and a charming Nordic accent, said protests organized by social media and technological developments are healthy for society, whether or not that offers him much in the way of job security.
He sees technological development as a way to move Iceland forward after tragedy.
"Reading was always important to people in Iceland and a literary creativity," he said. "Somehow, with the digital revolution, this interest was transported over to computers, websites, mobile phones and so on. So Iceland now ranks among the top countries in all of these areas, and it has brought forward a new generation of people who are creating companies in these fields."
The country has rebounded significantly since the 2008 meltdown, he said, and that's because Iceland bucked the advice of the international community and decided not to bail out the banks and financial institutions that helped create the foreclosure crisis.
"We are coming out of this crisis earlier and more effectively than I think anyone, including ourselves, could have expected. Iceland is now serving as an interesting example of how you can get out of a very deep financial and economic crisis."
