Trust In Party Chairs Takes Interesting Turns

A new poll on public trust – or distrust – towards the chairpeople of different political parties points to some interesting trends.

According to the poll, conducted by Market and Media Research, every party chair in Iceland saw a reduction in trust since the last poll was taken in June 2013, with the exception of one: Reykjavík Mayor Jón Gnarr. 39.4% of respondents said they trusted him quite a lot or very much, as opposed to 34% during the last poll.

The most trusted chairperson in the country, though, is Left-Green chairperson Katrín Jakobsdóttir, for whom 46.1% trusted quite a lot or very much, although this is down from 62.5% during the last poll.

The greatest drop in trust was found for Progressive chairperson and Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. Last June, 48.8% said they trusted him quite a lot or very much – today, only 23.2% say the same. He also bears the distinction of being the most distrusted party chairperson in the country, with 58.2% saying they trust him very little or not at all. Only 27.6% said the same during the last poll.

Independence Party chairperson Bjarni Benediktsson also surpassed the 50% mark in distrust, with 54.1% saying they trust him little or not at all. This is up from 43.4% last June.