According to a new opinion poll by Capacent, 70 percent of participants want a referendum on whether Iceland should apply for EU membership. Fifty percent of participants said they would vote for Iceland joining the EU.
Only 17.5 percent of participants in the poll said they were against a referendum on EU membership and 27 percent of participants said they were against joining the EU, Fréttabladid reports.
Although the poll was undertaken on behalf of supporters of EU membership from Iceland within the Progressive Party, the majority of voters for all political parties in Iceland said they agreed to a referendum.
Eighty-three percent of participants who support the Social Democrats want a referendum and 78 percent of Left-Green supporters. Almost 70 percent of Progressive Party supporters and 50 percent of Independence Party supporters want a referendum.
But people who want a referendum do not necessarily support EU membership. Almost 80 percent of Social Democrat supporters and 36 percent of Independence Party supporters want Iceland to apply.
Both parties are in Iceland’s coalition government; The Social Democrats are officially for EU membership and the Independence Party officially against it.
Capacent called 1,200 people, 18 and older, randomly at the beginning of October and 68.9 percent participated in the opinion poll.
