Those who thought the recent popularity of Iceland’s Pirate Party (‘Píratar´) may just be a blip may need to reconsider. The party has now topped opinion polls – by a considerable margin – for six months in a row.

The most recently Gallup poll, measuring voting intention on September 30, puts the Pirates on top at 34.6%. The party has now reigned supreme at the top of every monthly Gallup opinion poll for half a year.

In April this year, the Pirates overtook the centre-right Independence Party (‘Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn’) as Iceland’s most popular political party and has not relinquished first place since.

Indeed, the September poll puts the Pirates over ten points ahead of the Independence Party and over twenty points ahead of even the third-placed contender.

Despite a 1.3% drop in support for the Pirates since last month, and a 2.8% increase for the Independence Party, the Pirate’s lead is still impressive. Significantly, the party outperforms on its own the current ruling coalition (the Independence Party plus the Progressive Party – ‘Framsóknarflokkurinn’), who between them muster just 34.5%.