Many voters in Reykjavík want former talk-show host Gísli Martein Baldursson as their next mayor. According to a new poll by Fréttabladid, 25% of those surveyed chose Gísli Marteinn as the candidate they most wanted to see as the next mayor of Reykjavík.Gísli Martein is currently deputy city councilor for the Independence Party. On Sunday he announced that he would be seeking the top seat on Independence Party slate in the upcoming primary.
Over 20% of those surveyed chose Stefán Jón Hafstein, the top-ranking councilor for the Social Democratic Alliance in the R-coalition; 18% chose Vilhjálmur Th. Vilhjálmsson, currently the top-ranking councilor for the Independence Party in Reykjavík. In fourth place was Reykjavík’s current mayor, Steinunn Valdís Óskarsdóttir, with 10% of the respondents choosing her.
Gísli Martein told Fréttabladid that he was thankful for the results of the survey and found it “fun” that people believed in him, especially since he had not announced that he was running for the number one spot when the survey took place.
Stefán Jón said that he was very happy with the results but was not going to comment on the rankings of other candidates.
The current mayor, Steinunn Valdís, responded to the results by saying, “The survey was done on Saturday and Sunday when the two challengers, Gísli Marteinn og Stefán Jón, were prominent in the media.” She continued to say that it was obvious many women had not made up their minds.
Yesterday the Fréttabladid reported that according a recent poll the Independence Party would receive 53% of the vote, support for the Social Democratic Alliance measured in at 30%, and 9% of the respondents said they would vote for the Left Green Party. The Progressives, the party of the current prime minister, Halldór Ásgrímsson, received less than 5% support, not enough to elect a councilor. Two percent of the respondents said they would vote for the Liberal Party. Over one third of the respondents said they had still not made up their mind.
The elections will be held next spring.
