Analyst says EU membership is unpopular in Iceland

Political scientist Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson says the arguments made by supporters of European Union membership reveal a political weakness, mbl.is reports.

He said supporters seeking to open membership negotiations had placed strong emphasis on the vote being “only about negotiations” while avoiding a clear discussion of membership itself.

“The fact that those campaigning most strongly for Iceland to join the European Union believe it best serves their cause to tell people here at home, ‘We are only going into negotiations,’ amounts to an admission that joining the European Union is not particularly popular in Iceland,” Hjörtur said on Morgunblaðið’s Dagmál programme.

He said that if EU membership were more popular among voters, supporters would speak more directly about it. The focus on giving the government a mandate only to negotiate therefore demonstrated, in his view, a political weakness in the membership camp’s position.

Andrés Magnússon interviewed Hjörtur and Eiríkur Bergmann, a professor of political science at Bifröst University, for the programme.

The discussion focused on the final stage before Saturday’s referendum. It covered whether the debate had provided enough information, Iceland’s changed relationship with the European Union since 2009, possible solutions concerning fisheries, and the potential political consequences of the result for the government.

The programme also considered whether EU supporters had explained their position clearly enough and whether the question of European Union membership was fundamentally political, economic or existential for Icelanders.