9% consider PM honest

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, Prime Minister of Iceland, emerges as the clear loser in a new MMR opinion poll gauging people’s opinion of the positive qualities possessed by Icelandic political leaders. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, leader of the Left-Green Movement, obtains the best ratings overall.

The question

Over 1,000 answered the MMR survey, which asked respondents to indicate which Icelandic political leaders they associated with eleven praiseworthy personality traits. The options were:

Who is honest?

Jakobsdóttir topped the poll in seven of out of the eleven categories. 48% of respondents feel that she is true to her convictions and 47% believe her to be honest.

Honesty is not a quality, however, which the vast majority of respondents associate with Iceland’s PM, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. Just 9% believe him to be honest, placing him at the bottom of that particular ranking. He is just a shade behind his coalition partner, Bjarni Benediktsson (leader of the Independence Party and Iceland’s Finance Minister), who scores just 10% in the honesty stakes.

President well regarded

The President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, also performs well, topping the four categories not won by Jakobsdóttir. Respondents feel him to be particularly strong and effective and view him as a born leader who works well under pressure.

Gunnlaugsson and Benediktsson have the dubious honour of the most ‘clean sheets’ when it comes to the positive traits in question. 50% and 40% of respondents, respectively, feel that they possess not a single one of the qualities on offer.

Katrín Jakobsdóttir, leader of the Left-Green Movement, emerges as the clear winner in this poll. Photo: Kristinn

Bjarni Benediktsson, Finance Minister, is viewed as out of touch with the people and a poor defender of the public interest. Photo: Eggert

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland: 'strong and effective'. Photo: Golli