Iceland’s current government has never had less support among the public since it took office in November 2021, according to a new poll conducted by Gallup. The Social-Democratic Alliance, currently in the opposition, remains the strongest party in the country. RÚV reported first.
About 35% of those who took a stance stated that they support the government, which is 2.6% less support than in the last survey. This is the lowest level of support ever recorded for Katrín Jakobsdóttir’s government — and the lowest level of support recorded for a sitting government since July 2017. That government collapsed a month and a half later.
Only 6% would vote for Prime Minister’s party
Support for the two most popular parties, the Social-Democratic Alliance and the Independence Party, remains almost unchanged between months. Of those respondents who took a stance, 28.4% stated they would vote for the Social-Democratic Alliance if an election were held today, while 20.8% stated they would vote for the Independence Party. The Pirate Party followed in third place, with support around 10%.
The Progressive Party (one of three parties in the governing coalition along with the Independence Party and the Left-Green Movement) lost the most support since the previous poll, clocking in at just under 9%. The Reform Party and the Centre Party both measured around 8% support.
Only 6% of respondents stated they would vote for the Left-Green Movement, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir’s party and the current coalition leader. The Socialist Party trailed behind with around 5% support. Around 10% of respondents stated they would submit a blank vote or would not vote at all.
Stormy times for government
Since the last such poll was conducted by Gallup, the government switched out the Minister of Justice, and implemented a controversial temporary whaling ban, both of which may have made an impact on the public’s support. The whaling ban in particular brought to light disagreements between the parties in the governing coalition, leading to speculation that the coalition would disband. Parliament is currently on summer recess so it is unlikely any such disbanding will occur in the near future. The Central Bank’s damning report on the sale of state-owned Íslandsbanki has also been published in this period and may have had a marked impact on the public perception of the government.
The poll was conducted between June 1 and July 2, the total sample was over 11,300 people of which almost half responded.
