Although her party lost seats in the September 25 election, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir’s popularity as a leader has risen. Nearly 60% of respondents in a recent Maskína poll want the Left-Green Movement leader to continue as Prime Minister in the coming term. No other party leader came close to Katrín’s popularity in the poll: just 9.8% stated they would like Progressive Party Leader Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson as Prime Minister, while only 7.6% wanted Bjarni Benediktsson. The Left-Greens, Independents, and Progressives held their majority in the recent election and are now negotiating to continue their coalition.
Katrín’s popularity has nearly doubled
This is the fourth such poll conducted by Maskína, and results show that Katrín’s popularity has nearly doubled since the first poll was conducted in December 2020. Last September, only 36% stated they wanted Katrín as Prime Minister. Katrín was slightly more popular among female respondents than male, while the opposite was true for Bjarni Benediktsson. Other party leaders did not show much variation in popularity between male and female respondents.
From among the opposition leaders, Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir enjoyed the most support, with 6.3% stating they would prefer her as Prime Minister. Inga Sæland of the People’s Party received the least support, or 2.9%. The respondents numbered 946 and were 18 years and older, located across the country.
Coalition negotiation assumes Katrín’s leadership
Katrín, Bjarni, and Sigurður Ingi are now meeting regularly to negotiate a new coalition. They have been keeping their cards close to their chests regarding the allocation of ministries between the parties as well as the content of the government agreement. However, they have stated that the talks are being carried out on the basis of Katrín continuing as Prime Minister.
