More than two thirds of voters support an early election, a new poll conducted for the local newspaper Fréttablaðið. Fewer than a third of voters 30.5%, believe elections should be held on schedule, next spring, when the four year term of the current parliament comes to an end, while 69.5% believe elections should be held this fall. Elections will in all likelihood be held in October.
The centre-right coalition government promised early elections in April, after Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson resigned following revelations in the Panama Papers that his wife had a previously undisclosed off-shore company in a tax haven. As many as 22,000 people had protested in downtown Reykjavík, demanding early elections and the resignation of the Prime Minister.
Early elections an answer to historic mass protests
However, since the government announced it was holding early elections several members of the centre-right Progress Party have voiced doubts, arguing there was no hurry and that the government should be given time to complete its legislative agenda before elections are held. Among these is the former Prime Minister.
Political observers have pointed out that these doubts are connected to the poor showing of the Progress party in the polls. A poll conducted for Fréttablaðið last week showed that only 7.3% would vote for the Progress party, compared to 24.4% in the 2013 elections. The party would lose 14 seats in the 63 member parliament, dropping from 19 to 5. At the same time polls show that after having lost support the conservative Independence party has improved its position slightly in the past few months, and is currently polling close to its showing in the 2013 election.
More than two thirds of voters support an early election, a new poll conducted for the local newspaper Fréttablaðið. Fewer than a third of voters 30.5%, believe elections should be held on schedule, next spring, when the four year term of the current parliament comes to an end, while 69.5% believe elections should be held this fall. Elections will in all likelihood be held in October.
The centre-right coalition government promised early elections in April, after Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson resigned following revelations in the Panama Papers that his wife had a previously undisclosed off-shore company in a tax haven. As many as 22,000 people had protested in downtown Reykjavík, demanding early elections and the resignation of the Prime Minister.
Early elections an answer to historic mass protests
However, since the government announced it was holding early elections several members of the centre-right Progress Party have voiced doubts, arguing there was no hurry and that the government should be given time to complete its legislative agenda before elections are held. Among these is the former Prime Minister.
Political observers have pointed out that these doubts are connected to the poor showing of the Progress party in the polls. A poll conducted for Fréttablaðið last week showed that only 7.3% would vote for the Progress party, compared to 24.4% in the 2013 elections. The party would lose 14 seats in the 63 member parliament, dropping from 19 to 5. At the same time polls show that after having lost support the conservative Independence party has improved its position slightly in the past few months, and is currently polling close to its showing in the 2013 election.
