Authors

• Gallup Finland

Keywords

elections, municipal elections, parliamentary elections, political attitudes, political behaviour, political parties, voting

Abstract

In the survey, the Finns' attitudes towards the various political parties were under observation. The respondents were asked how favourably or negatively they view the Centre Party of Finland, the Finnish Social Democratic Party, the National Coalition Party, the Left Alliance, and the Green League. In addition, a host of attributes were listed, and the respondents were asked to which party they could be applied. The respondents were also asked how well or badly the government has succeeded in its tasks, and what party they would like to see to win the parliamentary elections. Voting behaviour was studied by asking what party or group they would vote for if the elections were held now, what would be the second best choice, and for whom did they vote in the 1995 parliamentary elections and in the 1996 municipal elections. The respondents were also asked which is more important, the party or the candidate, when making the voting decision in the forthcoming parliamentary elections of March 1999, whether they were going to vote in advance or on the election day, and how sure they were of their choice. In addition, the respondents were asked whether they took care of buying groceries or cooking in the household.

Background variables included the respondent's year of birth, marital status, annual income before taxes, place of residence, professional group, field of activities, membership in a trade union, and mother tongue.