A new poll from Market and Media Research shows the conservative Independence Party experiencing a dip in support, while their partners in the ruling coalition make gains. Opposition parties show mixed results.
According to the poll results, the Independence Party now has the support of 24.4% of respondents, but were at 27.1% in the last poll, which was taken on December 3rd. The Left-Greens, who lead the ruling coalition and are partnered with the Independence Party and the Progressive Party, saw a rise in support, from 7.6% to 10.9%. For their part, the Progressives also did alright for themselves, going from 7.6% to 9.1%.
As such, the gains from two of the ruling coalition parties more than made up for the losses of one. With opposition parties, changes in support varied.
The Social Democrats have the second-highest level of support, after the Independence Party, and went from 13.8% to 15.6% between polls. The Centre Party also saw a slight tick upwards in support, from 7.0% to 8.6%.
All other parties in the opposition saw dips in support. The Pirate Party went from 13.8% to 12.3%; the Reform Party went from 9.5% to 8.8%; and the People’s Party went from 6.2% to 4.9%.
The Socialist Party, who have not yet run for Parliament but do have a seat on Reykjavík City Council, went from 5% to 4.4% between polls.
While the combined support for the ruling coalition parties is 44.4%, 50.9% said they supported the ruling coalition as a whole, up from 50% in the last poll.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, parliamentary elections are due to be held this autumn.
Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.
You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
