Socialist People’s Party (SPP) leader Villy Søvndal has vowed to lead the party into the next election despite intense criticism and approval ratings that have sunk to embarrassing levels.

In a new Megafon survey for Politiken and TV2, just 2 per cent believe the beleaguered party boss is performing best out of all three coalition leaders, or has been successful in influencing government policy with the SPP’s own key issues – just two years ago, one in three saw Mr Søvndal as the country’s best party leader.

In response to a week of speculation that he could be tempted to slip the reins of the SPP to concentrate on being Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a similar Gallup poll that placed him rock-bottom of all cabinet ministers, he said: “Let me make it very clear that the head of the SPP isn’t decided by opinion polls. I’m not someone who cuts and runs when things get a little hot.”

Mr Søvndal also dismissed the ongoing discussion about whether the SPP should be a party for workers only, or one with broad voter appeal – ‘the oddest contrast that I’ve experienced during my 25 years in the party’ he said.

The SPP has sunk to under 6 per cent in the polls, the lowest during Mr Søvndal’s 12-year tenure as party leader.