Authors

• Gallup Finland

Keywords

elections, local government elections, parliamentary candidates, parliamentary elections, political allegiance, political attitudes, political behaviour, political parties, political support, voting

Abstract

The survey studied Finnish political attitudes and opinions on political parties. The respondents were asked how favourable their opinion was regarding the Finnish Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party of Finland, the National Coalition Party, the Left Alliance and the Green League. A number of attributes were listed and the respondents were asked to which party they could be applied. Voting behaviour was studied by asking how willing the respondents would be to vote for different parties if parliamentary elections were held at the time of the survey and which party they had voted for in the 2000 municipal elections. The respondents rated how successful the government had been in individual issues and in general.

The respondents were also asked in what kind of situations they vote and what factors contribute to their voting intentions. In addition, their interest in supporting a certain candidate in the parliamentary elections or standing as a candidate themselves were probed. The respondents' voluntary organisation membership and participation in the activities of different voluntary organisations and associations were charted. Finally, the respondents evaluated which one of the leading Finnish politicians has distinguished himself/herself in trying to improve economic growth.

Background variables included the respondent's year of birth, marital status, place of residence, occupational group, employment sector, trade union membership, mother tongue, gross income of the household, party choice in the 1999 parliamentary elections and the 2000 municipal elections, and political orientation on the left-right axis.