Authors

• The Finnish Research Infrastructure for Public Opinion (FIRIPO)

Keywords

european parliament elections, parliamentary candidates, parliamentary elections, political attitudes, political behaviour, political leaders, political participation, political support, politicians, trust, voting, voting advice applications

Abstract

The data cover public opinion on Finnish parliamentary elections and European parliamentary elections held in 2019, collected in eight separate collection rounds from the same respondents. The respondents' views on politics and changes in these views were charted both before and after the elections. The survey investigated political participation and voting behaviour in Finland. The surveys were also used to create an online survey panel called Citizens' Opinion that represented the adult population of Finland. The panel is part of the Finnish Research Infrastructure for Public Opinion (FIRIPO).

In the first collection round, the respondents were asked about their interest in politics and how they had been following the 2019 parliamentary elections (e.g. TV programs, newspapers, online voting advice applications, social media). The respondents' views on whether following the election campaign had improved their understanding of politics and whether the differences between the political parties had become clearer during the election campaign were investigated. Past voting behaviour was examined by asking whether in the 2015 parliamentary elections and which party they had voted for then. Further questions charted whether the respondents were going to vote in the 2019 parliamentary elections and which party they considered voting for. Opinions on several political parties in Finland were also surveyed.

The second round of data collection charted whether the respondents had voted in advance in the 2019 parliamentary elections and if so, which party's candidate they had voted for. Those who had not voted in advance were asked which party's candidate they intended to vote for. Those who indicated that they would not be voting at all in the parliamentary elections were asked for their reasons for doing so (e.g. 'I am not interested in politics and I don't care about voting', 'I had trouble finding a suitable party or candidate for myself', 'I did not have enough information to make a voting decision'). Additionally, the respondents were asked how much they trusted, for example, the Finnish Government, the Finnish President, and the European Union.

The third round included questions on whether the respondents had already voted or intended to vote in the 2019 parliamentary elections and which party's candidate they had voted for or intended to vote for. Those who indicated that they would not be voting at all in the parliamentary elections were asked for their reasons for doing so (e.g. 'I am not interested in politics and I don't care about voting', 'I had trouble finding a suitable party or candidate for myself', 'I did not have enough information to make a voting decision').

In the fourth collection round, the respondents were asked how satisfied they were with the results of the 2019 parliamentary elections and which parties they thought should form the new coalition government. Views on current political issues were charted with a series of statements (e.g. 'Immigration is mostly a good thing for Finland', 'Finland should be much more active in the fight against climate change', 'Russia is a security threat to Finland', 'public services must be cut to balance the Finnish economy'). Additionally, the respondents were asked to what extent they had used various forms of media (e.g. online voting advice applications, election debates and interviews with party leaders on TV) to follow the parliamentary elections and to what extent the information they received from various sources (e.g. TV, friends and acquaintances, the social media pages of political parties or their candidates) had impacted their voting decision. The respondents' views on whether following the election campaign had improved their understanding of politics and whether the differences between the political parties had become clearer during the election campaign were also investigated.

The fifth collection round surveyed how important the respondents considered various topics in politics (e.g. taxation, minority rights, European cooperation and EU, education) to be. The respondents' interest and intentions to vote in the 2019 European parliamentary elections were investigated. Those who indicated that they would vote in the European parliamentary elections were asked which party's candidate they would vote for. Internet use and social media use (e.g. Instagram, Facebook) were examined, and opinions on the political parties in the Finnish parliament were charted. Satisfaction with democracy in Finland in general and at the municipal level, as well as satisfaction with democracy in the EU were investigated.

In the sixth round, the respondents were asked how satisfied they were with the likely government composition following the 2019 parliamentary elections. Views on the EU were charted with a series of questions. The respondents were, for example, asked how they would vote in the event of a referendum on Finland's EU membership, whether the British people had made the right choice leaving the EU, whether Brexit had been good or bad for the EU, whether Finland had benefited from EU membership, and whether the respondents were for or against the formation of an EU army in the future. A series of questions with hypothetical situations (e.g. 'Imagine that the media has revealed that a male MP of the National Coalition Party has strong ties to a neo-Nazi organisation in Helsinki. On a scale of zero to ten, to what extent do you trust this politician?') was used to investigate the respondents' attitudes in response to male or female members of different political parties being involved in scandals such as tax evasion, having an extramarital affair or having far-right ties.

The seventh round examined political attitudes with a series of statements (e.g. 'Finnish Members of Parliament are competent at their jobs', 'I trust my own abilities to take part in politics', 'By voting ordinary people can have an impact on political decision-making'). Trust in other people in general and trust in specific groups of people (e.g. Russians, Estonians, Somalis, Germans) were studied and the respondents were asked whether Islam is suitable in the context of Finnish culture and democratic tradition. Opinions on the political parties in the Finnish parliament were also investigated. In addition, the respondents were asked the so-called solidarity tax, where those who earn more than 76,100 euros per year pay an extra 2 percent of income tax, should be removed.

The eighth collection round charted how satisfied the respondents were with the results of the European parliamentary elections and which party's candidate they had voted for. Those who had not voted in the European parliamentary elections were asked for their reasons for doing so (e.g. 'I am not interested in politics and I don't care about voting', 'I had trouble finding a suitable party or candidate for myself', 'I did not have enough information to make a voting decision', 'EU elections are not important to me'). The respondents' trust in, for example, the Finnish Government, the Finnish President, and the European Union was examined. The respondents' trust in politicians was also surveyed with several questions such as whether politicians exaggerate the effects of climate change, whether politicians' approach to immigration is too lax or too strict, and whether political decision making on the national level is well thought out or more or less haphazard.

Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, highest level of education, economic activity and occupational status, mother tongue, electoral district, and NUTS3 region of residence.