Authors

• Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University. Institute for Finland-Swedish Sociological Research)

Keywords

Internet, Swedish-speaking Finns, constituencies, language, members of parliament, parliamentary candidates, parliamentary elections, political attitudes, political participation, political support, voting

Abstract

The election survey was conducted in Swedish and collected after the 2007 parliamentary elections. It is part of a four-year research project exploring politics in Swedish-speaking Finland (Svensk politik i Finland - beteende, opinion, framtid (2007-20010)).

First, the respondents were queried how interested they were in politics and how much they followed the parliamentary elections in different media. The respondents' identification with various groups, self-perceived social class, and the stability of their political party preference were investigated, as well as what kind of measures they would be willing to take to promote things they considered important.

The respondents were also presented with a set of attitudinal statements on voting, participating in parliamentary elections, political participation, political power, institutions, the Swedish People's Party in Finland, and services provided in Swedish. Some questions pertained to the Internet. The respondents were asked whether they had signed online petitions, contacted political decision-makers, discussed politics, or participated in other discussions.

Municipal elected offices and organisational participation were also charted in the survey. The respondents were also asked to indicate the performance of Matti Vanhanen's Government, and to place different political parties as well as themselves on a left-right scale. Some questions examined how well political parties had distinguished themselves during the election campaign and the functioning of democracy in Finland. In addition, the respondents were asked whether they had voted in the 2007 parliamentary elections, and if not, what the reason for abstaining from voting was. Those who had voted were asked which party they had voted, which factors had affected their party choice, and whether the candidate or the party was a more important selection criterion.

The respondents also evaluated how the Government had succeeded in managing the issues related to Swedish-speaking Finns and the status of Åland. Additionally, the respondents indicated which language was spoken at their home, how well they could speak Finnish, and how satisfied they were with their financial situation and life in general.

Background variables included the respondent's year of birth, gender, education, marital status, economic activity, occupational group, household size, household income, region of residence, language spoken at home, language proportion in municipality of residence, religiosity, and electoral district.