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The Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson had just stood down over allegations he had failed to disclose his interest in his family's offshore account. He was the first political casualty of the Panama leaks scandal.
The prime minister has not been accused of breaking any Icelandic law. No matter. The impression of a conflict of interest and of a lack of transparency was enough to bring him down.
A sizeable number of the crowd huddled against a biting north-east wind simply would not accept a leader with links to offshore havens.
This is a small country that only recently had almost been brought down by failed banks using shell companies in tax havens.
What made the disclosures even more sensitive for the prime minister is that he was overseeing negotiations over the failed banks.
From margins to mainstream
There is a new politics that has grown out of the financial crash in 2008. What was once confined to the margins of public debate - tax havens, bank secrecy, corporate tax rates, tax evasion - has seeped into mainstream politics.
The actions of the global elites feed the strain of anger detected in European and US politics.
In 1994, I presented a three-part BBC One series called Dirty Money. There were examples of cartel members dropping off cases of cash in British dependent territories in the Caribbean.
But by far the biggest business was providing shell companies. These were islands of secrecy and the flows of money that passed through the offshore banking centres were immense, but it was hard to spark political interest.
I recall, however, speaking to a Senate aide on Capitol Hill who said to me: "Nearly every major crime in the United States had a financial link to offshore havens."
The financial crash of 2008 changed everything. Politicians could no longer look away.
The revelations eroded trust and voters began to engage with the world of finance. Rogue traders had dealt in sub-prime mortgages. Others had rigged markets.
The investments of banks had nearly brought down the Irish economy. Banks, which were too big to fail, had to be bailed out by taxpayers. Politicians and voters paid attention.
Focus on inequality
In this climate some of the walls of bank secrecy - like in Switzerland - have been breached. Offshore havens are being squeezed.
For the past five years, Europe's leaders have been working on legislation to ensure that, in future, taxpayers will not have to stump up for failing banks.
The post-2008 world has also focused attention on inequality. Certainly in the United States one of the main political questions of this election year is whether the system works for the many or for the few.
Many of the new jobs are low-wage. In real terms the wages of the middle-class have fallen since the crash. Unemployment, although gradually falling, has remained stubbornly high in Europe.
So in a time of insecurity, who pays what tax matters.
The European Commission has promised to crack down on tax avoidance. On Tuesday a Commission official welcomed the Panama Papers, saying: "The global focus on this issue provides us with the momentum we need to drive forward our agenda."
European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager described the Panama Papers as the "tip of the iceberg". Several governments have promised to launch investigations into the individuals named in the documents and to recover money if there is proof of illegality.
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	(19%)	iceland gunnlaugsson banks political party icelandic government wife financial offshore ...
	(13%)	money global evasion called week foreign account release failed reported ...
	(11%)	american companies shell accounts names european europe thursday politicians records ...

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