Most Voters Support Iceland’s NATO Membership, Survey Finds

The majority of voters across all parties are in favor of Iceland staying in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, reports Fréttablaðið.

Summer Sale on T-Shirts in the Grapevine shop! We only have a chance to wear a T-shirt outdoors for about 2 months of the year here in Iceland. To celebrate, we will offer a 20% discount on all our T-shirts! All shapes and sizes with all kinds of Iceland-themed motifs. Take a look!

A new survey by Prósent found that 71.6% of all respondents support NATO membership, while 11% oppose it. Another 17.3% do not have an opinion on the matter.

The Left-Green Party’s platform states that Iceland should withdraw from NATO. Meanwhile, the Socialist Party’s policy states that a peace alliance should be established in cooperation with neighbors and small nations as an alternative to NATO.

Of Left-Green voters, 53% support Iceland’s membership of NATO, of which 20% are strongly in favor. Only 23% are opposed, while 24% do not have an opinion on the matter.

More voters of the Socialist Party are in favor of Iceland’s membership than against; 47% of Socialists support Iceland’s membership of NATO, while 40% oppose it. Of this, there are 28% strongly opposed to membership.

The highest support for NATO was among Reform Party voters, where 93% were in favor and only 4% are against. Closely behind, 89% of the Independence Party voters and 87% of Progressives support Iceland’s NATO membership.

Support within the Social Democratic Party, the People’s Party, the Center Party and the Pirates is very similar, ranging from 65-71%. Opposition within the Pirates, however, is 21% and 9-12% within the other three parties.

Both support and opposition to NATO membership are higher in the capital area, 73% and 12%, respectively, than in rural areas, where 21% do not have an opinion on the issue.

There is somewhat more support from men than women, 78% compared to 65%, but the opposition is the same, 11%. Nearly a quarter of women, 24%, do not have an opinion on NATO membership.

When it comes to age, the youngest age group stands out in opposition. 50% support membership while 28% oppose it. Support is highest among those aged 45 to 64, 77%, with less than 10% opposed.

Support for Iceland’s presence in NATO increases among rising income brackets. 82% of those with a monthly income of 800,000 ISK or more support NATO membership and only 4% are against. For the lowest-income group, with less than 400,000 ISK monthly, the support is 63%, but 23% do not have an opinion on the matter.

The survey was conducted online from June 2-13. 1,780 people were surveyed and the response rate was 50.1%.