Do we like them?

Do we like Kristrún Frostadóttir?

Our score: 7 out of 10. A clean record on harm and decent stands on Gaza and free trade, held back by thin evidence on LGBTQ+ issues and a tougher line on immigration.

Kristrún Frostadóttir is Iceland's prime minister, in the job since December 2024 and leading a coalition built around her Social Democratic Alliance. She came in as an economist-turned-politician with a pitch about inflation, interest rates and a vote on EU talks, so most of her coverage is about money and Europe rather than culture-war stuff.

The big story is the EU. She promised a referendum on restarting accession talks, said she didn't want the debate driven by fear, and then watched voters knock it back in a close result on 29 August. She said she'd accept the outcome and that her government wouldn't go forward with it, which is a fair way to lose.

On the harm check, nothing nasty turned up. On Trump she called his Greenland ambitions “gravely concerning” and backed Greenland's right to decide its own future, and she ruled out counter-tariffs on free-trade grounds. In May 2025 she signed a leaders' statement calling on Israel to halt operations in Gaza and let aid in, which Iceland helped start.

The gap is honest: searches turned up nothing from her on trans or LGBTQ+ rights, good or bad. Her September speech also promised a review of residence permits and deportation rules this winter, with the government saying it has restored firm control on immigration. Where you land depends on whether you read that as sensible administration or a harder line.

The good stuff is mostly policy. Her government says housing prices have fallen in real terms, first-time buyers are at their highest share since 2008 and it has delivered its first balanced budget in nearly a decade, though inflation is still 5.6 per cent. That's the government's own scorecard, so treat it as a pitch rather than a verdict.