Antti Lindtman, the chairperson of the Social Democrats, spoke during a question-time debate in the Parliament House in Helsinki on 10 October 2024. Under Lindtman, the Social Democratic Party has seen its popularity rise to a level not seen since early 2016, despite the chairperson facing criticism for his cautious approach, writes Helsingin Sanomat. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)
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POPULAR SUPPORT for the National Coalition has dropped to its lowest level since the right-wing party secured the premiership in the parliamentary elections of 2023, according to a new opinion poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat.
The National Coalition, the poll found, would win 19.4 per cent of the vote if the elections were held today, signalling a drop of 1.2 percentage points from September.
The Social Democratic Party, the Finns Party and the Centre Party have all seen their popularity increase from last month, the first now polling at 22.8 instead of 22.0 per cent, the second at 16.1 instead of 15.5 per cent and the third at 12.5 instead of 12.0 per cent.
Helsingin Sanomat last Wednesday pointed out that Antti Lindtman, the chairperson of the Social Democratic Party, has faced criticism for being overly cautious and lacking bravado, but the party is presently more popular than under his predecessor, Sanna Marin. Support for Marin’s Social Democrats peaked at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, hitting 22.1 per cent in May 2020.
The polling data show that the opposition party has won over supporters from all age groups, especially the youngest and oldest groups. It remains particularly popular among the elderly, though, boasting 1.5 times more over 65-year-old supporters than the Centre and nearly two times than the National Coalition.
While women continue to make up the majority of the party’s supporters, the data also reveal that it has gained support especially among men.
The Social Democratic Party has added over 30,000 under 35-year-old supporters since the previous elections, becoming the second most popular party within the age group after the Finns Party.
The populist right-wing ruling party, by contrast, has seen its popularity erode across age groups since the elections. Its decline has been particularly notable among middle-aged voters, with the number of 50–64-year-old supporters plummeting by over 44,000 since the first half of 2023.
The National Coalition has lost some of its shine especially among over 65-year-olds.
Elsewhere, the Left Alliance and Green League both recorded drops of 0.3 points in support, the former to 8.6 and the latter to 8.0 per cent. The Swedish People’s Party and Christian Democrats remain virtually neck and neck as the former stood pat at 4.2 per cent and the latter dropped 0.1 points to 4.0 per cent.
Movement Now gained 0.4 points to rise to 2.2 per cent, according to the poll.
Formed by the National Coalition, the Finns Party, Swedish People’s Party and the Christian Democrats, the ruling coalition has the support of 43.7 per cent of the public, a drop of nearly six points since the elections.
The poll was carried out for Helsingin Sanomat by Verian. The market research firm interviewed 2,432 people for the poll between 16 September and 11 October. The results have a margin of error of two percentage points for the largest parties.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
