New public opinion poll in Iceland produced by Capacent shows that only 30 percent now support the country's center-left government led by the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin), which is the only Icelandic political party that favours joining the European Union. The SDA got almost 30 percent in the general elections in April 2009 but now has only 18 percent according to the poll.
Meanwhile the conservative Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) now has 36 percent and is by far the largest political party in Iceland according to polls in recent months. Traditionally the party has been Iceland's largest party for decades but it lost that status briefly after the 2008 financial crash in Iceland. The party has the policy thatthe country's ongoing EU application should be withdrawn immediately.
Source:
Fylgi ríkisstjórnarinnar hrynur (Mbl.is November 1, 2010)
10/19/2010
Only about 18 percent trust the European Union
According to a new opinion poll by the polling company MMR only 17.9 percent of Icelanders trust the European Union while 53.5 percent do not trust it. If those neutral are not taken into the picture about 75 percent do not trust the EU.
Source:
The MMR poll
Source:
The MMR poll
10/15/2010
Iceland's government unlikely to finish EU membership negotiations says a member of the government's negotiating team
"The current government will very unlikely finish the membership negotiations with the European Union. That will only happen through a powerful leadership from the center and right wing of the [Icelandic] politics," said Þorsteinn Pálsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland and former chairman of the conservative Independence Party, in a speech on last October 6. Pálsson is also a member of the current center-left government's team with the task of negotiating EU membership which make his comment even more interesting.
The Independence Party, which is currently leading the opposition, has the policy not only to oppose membership of the EU but that the application for membership shall be withdrawn immediately.
Source:
Þorsteinn Pálsson's speech (in Icelandic)
The Independence Party, which is currently leading the opposition, has the policy not only to oppose membership of the EU but that the application for membership shall be withdrawn immediately.
Source:
Þorsteinn Pálsson's speech (in Icelandic)
10/12/2010
Only 25 percent want the euro
New internet poll by the Icelandic radio station Bylgjan suggests that only 25 percent of Icelanders want to replace the national currency, the króna, with the euro. This is about the same percentage that wants to join the EU according to repeated opinion polls over the past twelve months. At the same time 44 percent want to keep the króna in one way or another, either pegged to the US dollar or the euro or not. Also according to the poll 26 percent want to adopt the dollar as Iceland's currency.
Source:
Hvað vilt þú gera í gjaldmiðilsmálum landsins? (Bylgjan.is October 12, 2010)
Source:
Hvað vilt þú gera í gjaldmiðilsmálum landsins? (Bylgjan.is October 12, 2010)
9/17/2010
Iceland's Foreign Minister in an growing desperation
Foreign Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson has an article today in the Icelandic tabloid DV where he lashes out aginst those in Iceland who are fighting against membership of the European Union, and have always fought against it, for doing that. This is seen as yet another token of the growing desperation among membership supporters that the application is heading for even more difficulties than it has already.
Skarphéðinsson's government has been distancing itself from the application in recent months claiming on a number of occasions it was not the government's policy to apply but merely the decision of the Icelandic parliament. The reason probably being the growing opposition to the application both among the voters in general and within the junior coalition partner the Left Green Movement.
As everyone else in Iceland Skarphéðinsson knows that the EU application was exceptionally poorly prepared and that it was rushed into it despite the fact that there has never been a necessary support in Iceland for taking such a step, neither political nor public. The Foreign Minister, however, chooses instead to blame those who everyone knew would continue to fight against an EU application for the mess.
On top of this there are rumours that MPs from Skarphéðinsson's Social Democratic Alliance, the current senior coalition parner and the only political party in Iceland that favours EU membership, are now hoping to form a new and less fragile government with the conservative Independence Party which has the policy that the EU application must be withdrawn immediately.
Skarphéðinsson's government has been distancing itself from the application in recent months claiming on a number of occasions it was not the government's policy to apply but merely the decision of the Icelandic parliament. The reason probably being the growing opposition to the application both among the voters in general and within the junior coalition partner the Left Green Movement.
As everyone else in Iceland Skarphéðinsson knows that the EU application was exceptionally poorly prepared and that it was rushed into it despite the fact that there has never been a necessary support in Iceland for taking such a step, neither political nor public. The Foreign Minister, however, chooses instead to blame those who everyone knew would continue to fight against an EU application for the mess.
On top of this there are rumours that MPs from Skarphéðinsson's Social Democratic Alliance, the current senior coalition parner and the only political party in Iceland that favours EU membership, are now hoping to form a new and less fragile government with the conservative Independence Party which has the policy that the EU application must be withdrawn immediately.
9/09/2010
New internet poll in Iceland on the EU
New internet poll was made public today in Iceland which shows 58% opposed to membership of the European Union and 29% in favour. The poll was made yesterday by the popular Icelandic radio station Bylgjan.
Although this poll was not produced as scientificly as for example ones produced by Capacent (a question was simply asked at the second most popular Icelandic website where everyone could participate but each ip-number only once) the results are nevertheless surprisingly in line with such purely scientific polls.
Source:
Reykjavík síðdegis spurði: Hver er þín afstaða til ESB aðildar Íslands í dag? (Bylgjan.is September 9, 2010)
Although this poll was not produced as scientificly as for example ones produced by Capacent (a question was simply asked at the second most popular Icelandic website where everyone could participate but each ip-number only once) the results are nevertheless surprisingly in line with such purely scientific polls.
Source:
Reykjavík síðdegis spurði: Hver er þín afstaða til ESB aðildar Íslands í dag? (Bylgjan.is September 9, 2010)
9/05/2010
New government policy: No mention of the EU application
Significant changes were made to the Icelandic center-left government last week with new ministers coming in and others leaving. After these changes political analysts have said there is more hostility against membership of the European Union within the government than was before they took place.
But what has been seen as the most interesting change is that the new government policy does not mention the EU issue at all unlike the original government platform. However, this is in line with repeated statements by government ministers in recent months that the ongoing EU application is not the policy of the government but merely the decision of the Icelandic parliament.
This has led to speculations in Iceland that the government, especially the junior partner the Left Greens, may be preparing an organised retreat on the issue. After all it has become clear that not only the government is split on the question whether to proceed with the application but also the senior government partner the social democrats.
Source:
Þögn um Icesave og ESB aðild í 20 mála verkefnaskrá ríkisstjórnarinnar (Evropuvaktin.is September 2, 2010)
But what has been seen as the most interesting change is that the new government policy does not mention the EU issue at all unlike the original government platform. However, this is in line with repeated statements by government ministers in recent months that the ongoing EU application is not the policy of the government but merely the decision of the Icelandic parliament.
This has led to speculations in Iceland that the government, especially the junior partner the Left Greens, may be preparing an organised retreat on the issue. After all it has become clear that not only the government is split on the question whether to proceed with the application but also the senior government partner the social democrats.
Source:
Þögn um Icesave og ESB aðild í 20 mála verkefnaskrá ríkisstjórnarinnar (Evropuvaktin.is September 2, 2010)
9/04/2010
Majority now also against membership talks
For years supporters of membership of the European Union told the Icelandic people it was possible to enter some kind of a scouting membership talks with the EU without any formatlity or obligations. In Icelandic it was called "könnunarviðræður". Membership talks with the sole aim to see exactly what the EU had to offer.
Even when the application for EU membership was delivered last year by the Icelandic government its leaders claimed the aim was not to join the EU but merely to see what it had to offer and they are still saying this. Now they are finally realising that the EU has whole other ideas about the process after the application.
For years public opinion polls as a result showed a majority for "membership talks" while there was usually majority at the same time against in polls asking if people were in favour of "applying for EU membership". But now people have obviously finally realised that some scouting membership talks are not on the table.
As a result a new poll produced for the pro-EU movement in Iceland showed a majority against "membership talks". This was in fact their final straw when it came to public opinion polls and now they don't have that anymore.
Even when the application for EU membership was delivered last year by the Icelandic government its leaders claimed the aim was not to join the EU but merely to see what it had to offer and they are still saying this. Now they are finally realising that the EU has whole other ideas about the process after the application.
For years public opinion polls as a result showed a majority for "membership talks" while there was usually majority at the same time against in polls asking if people were in favour of "applying for EU membership". But now people have obviously finally realised that some scouting membership talks are not on the table.
As a result a new poll produced for the pro-EU movement in Iceland showed a majority against "membership talks". This was in fact their final straw when it came to public opinion polls and now they don't have that anymore.
9/02/2010
Increasing support for the Independence Party
The support for the conservative Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) has increased significantly this summer after the party underlined its opposition to membership of the European Union by demanding that the application would be withdrawn without delay.
The Independence Party continues to be by far the largest political party and now has according to Capacent poll 35 percent of the votes compared to only 24 percent in the last general elections in Iceland in the spring of 2009.
The party which has lost most support according to the poll is the Social Democratic Alliance which is the only Icelandic political party that favours EU membership.
Source:
Fylgi Sjálfstæðisflokksins eykst á milli mánaða (Capacent.is August 12, 2010)
The Independence Party continues to be by far the largest political party and now has according to Capacent poll 35 percent of the votes compared to only 24 percent in the last general elections in Iceland in the spring of 2009.
The party which has lost most support according to the poll is the Social Democratic Alliance which is the only Icelandic political party that favours EU membership.
Source:
Fylgi Sjálfstæðisflokksins eykst á milli mánaða (Capacent.is August 12, 2010)
8/27/2010
Applying for EU membership not the government's policy
Iceland's Finance Minister, Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, gave a statement at a press meeting on Tuesday that it was neither his government's policy to apply for membership of the European Union nor join up. It was merely the decision of the country's parliament to send in an application.
This Sigfússon said in the wake of recent comments by the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Jón Bjarnason, to the newspaper Morgunblaðið that the whole accession process should be stopped since it was not just simple negotiations as the Icelandic people had be told.
Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was also answering questions at the press meeting and underlined Sigfússon's statement by saying that the Fisheries and Agriculture Minister had an obligation to execute decisions by the parliament just like other government ministers.
This is in line with previous comments this year by Iceland's Foreign Minister that the EU application was not the government's policy but only the parliament's decision and that the purpose of the application was primarily to see what the EU had to offer but not to join.
Source:
„Ekki stefna ríkisstjórnarinnar að sækja um aðild að ESB“ - Hver sótti þá um aðild Steingrímur? (Pressan.is August 24, 2010)
This Sigfússon said in the wake of recent comments by the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Jón Bjarnason, to the newspaper Morgunblaðið that the whole accession process should be stopped since it was not just simple negotiations as the Icelandic people had be told.
Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was also answering questions at the press meeting and underlined Sigfússon's statement by saying that the Fisheries and Agriculture Minister had an obligation to execute decisions by the parliament just like other government ministers.
This is in line with previous comments this year by Iceland's Foreign Minister that the EU application was not the government's policy but only the parliament's decision and that the purpose of the application was primarily to see what the EU had to offer but not to join.
Source:
„Ekki stefna ríkisstjórnarinnar að sækja um aðild að ESB“ - Hver sótti þá um aðild Steingrímur? (Pressan.is August 24, 2010)
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