The nation appears to be split more or less evenly over the question of whether to let the trial of former prime minister Geir H. Haarde continue or not.
As most readers know, a report from the Special Investigative Commission released shortly after the crash examined many possible contributing factors to the 2008 bank collapse. Among them is named Geir H. Haarde, who was prime minister at the time. The report portrays him as an ineffective leader who was frankly terrified of then-Central Bank chairman (and the former chairman of Geir’s own party), Davíð Oddsson.
In the wake of these findings, a narrow parliamentary vote pressed charges of mismanagement and neglect against Geir, who is now subsequently standing trial. However, the Independence Party, from which he hails, introduced a proposal last winter which would end the trial prematurely. How does the nation feel about such a proposal?
Decidedly ambivalent, RÚV reports. According to the results of a new Gallup poll, of those asked whether they felt that the charges against Geir should be dropped, 52% want to see the charges dropped while 48% do not.
However, demographics show some predictable trends.
The higher the reported income level of the respondent, the more likely they were to respond that they wanted to see charges against Geir dropped. By party affiliation, support for dropping the charges was greatest among members of the Independence Party, at 94%. Only about 20% of these supporting the ruling coalition feel the same way.
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