Only About 22% Of Icelanders Believe The Presidency Is Necessary

A new poll shows that only about 22% of Icelanders believe they need to have a president, and some want to shut down the office altogether.

Vísir reports that, according to a new poll from Maskína, about two-thirds of respondents said they considered the office of the presidency to be very relevant to Icelandic politics, and of them, 30% believe the office is necessary. About a third believe the office matters little, and of those, 12% would like to shut it down completely.

In terms of demographics, slightly more men than women believe it is necessary for Iceland to have a president, and the age group that showed the highest level of support for the office were those under 25. Icelanders from Reykjavík or the East Fjörds had less faith in the office than Icelanders from elsewhere in the country.

Potential voters for Morgunblaðið co-editor Davíð Oddsson for president were more likely to consider the presidency important than supporters of other candidates. Interestingly, the more dissatisfied a respondent was with current President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson’s decision to drop out of the race, the more important they believed the office to be.

Presidential elections in Iceland will be held on June 25.