The referendum on the Icesave agreement will be held on 9 April, a government meeting has concluded.
Eyjan reports that originally, the date of 16 April was tentatively decided upon. This decision was changed when it was remembered that this is the Saturday before Palm Sunday, which for many Icelanders is a holiday.
The decision to hold the elections sooner rather than later might also be tied to the level of support that the Icesave agreement currently enjoys. As has been reported, a poll conducted last week by Market and Media Research showed that 57.7% said they would vote in favour of the Icesave agreement if a referendum were held today. A similar poll conducted by Fréttablaðið showed about 60% supporting signing the Icesave deal.
Nonetheless, the president – who vetoed the Icesave law, despite being passed in parliament with a 70% majority – still enjoys a fairly high level of support, Eyjan reports. Most of this support comes from Progressives – unsurprising, as the party has been heavily active in anti-Icesave campaigning. Most conservatives also want to see the president run for office again, while members of the Movement are divided almost equally. As one might expect, support was little amongst Social Democrats, and lowest amongst Leftist-Greens.
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