The Icelandic government is supported by 30 percent of respondents in a new survey by Capacent Gallup, down from 40 percent last month. Each of the coalition parties, the Social Democrats and Left-Greens, are supported by 18 percent of respondents.
Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.
“A government that shows its frustration when support is low in the middle of a difficult period isn’t capable of dealing with the problems at hand,” commented Finance Minister and chairman of the Left-Greens Steingrímur J. Sigfússon to Fréttabladid.
“It is natural for the coalition parties to take a dive. This has been a hard month,” Sigfússon added, pointing out that usually in countries that are dealing with difficulties the government enjoys little support.
The drop is support for the Left-Greens isn’t particularly drastic. The party was voted by 21.7 percent of the electorate in the parliamentary elections in spring 2009 and last month 20 percent of respondents to a survey said they supported the party.
However, support for the Social Democrats has collapsed. In the 2009 elections, 30 percent of the electorate voted for the party. According to RÚV, support for the party has not been as low in nine years, since November 2001.
As for the opposition parties, the Independence Party and The Movement enjoy increased support but the Progressive Party would lose two percent if elections were held today.
Click here to read more about previous surveys.
