The coastguard and the police are the public bodies most trusted by the Icelandic public, according to the latest Gallup poll.
Trust for both organizations has gone down since the last poll, however, and people’s trust of the state mediator and the parliamentary ombudsman have increased the most.
The latest Gallup poll of how much people trust various public bodies was conducted in February and had the same top three as the poll a year earlier: 81 percent of respondents trust the coastguard a great deal—though that is eight percent lower than last year. 77 percent of respondents trust the police a great deal—but that has gone down by six percent in a year.
The University of Iceland is in third place, with 72 percent trust, according to Gallup. 60 percent of people trust the healthcare system a great deal, and 54 percent trust the parliamentary ombudsman—a figure that has gone up by seven percent.
The state mediator is the public body which enjoyed the greatest image boost between years, with 51 percent of respondents now trusting it a great deal—up by 13 percent since last year. 43 percent of respondents greatly trust the office of president, and the same percentage trust the judicial system.
The National Church of Iceland is greatly trusted by 36 percent of respondents, while 30 percent trust Reykjavík City Council. That is a similar level of support to the Central Bank of Iceland and the debtors’ ombudsman. One-in-five respondents trust the financial regulatory authority.
Alþingi, the national parliament, has the second-lowest level of public trust, at 18 percent—a reduction of six percent between years.
The banking system brings up the rear, with 12 percent public trust, RÚV reported.
