Tekijät

• Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA)

Asiasanat

attitudes, decision making, fiscal policy, labour market, parliamentary elections, political parties, politics, public debt, public finance, taxation, trade union rights

Sisällön kuvaus

The study charted Finnish people's values and attitudes. The themes of the Spring 2023 survey included the parliamentary elections of spring 2023, politics, foreign policy, taxation, and public finance.

First, the respondents were presented with attitudinal statements concerning a variety of social topics, such as politics, immigration, political parties, taxation, the right to strike, the labour market and foreign policy.

Next, the respondents were asked about their intentions to vote in the parliamentary elections of spring 2023, their voting behaviour, and how many political parties had candidates for whom they would vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Opinions on what were the most important themes (e.g. social security, taxation, public finance, national security) that impacted the respondents' choice of political party and candidate were also surveyed. Questions charted what the new government should focus on (e.g. improving employment, lowering taxation, increasing funding for education, stricter environment policy, cutting public expenditure) and what the respondents' views were on the composition of the new government (which political parties should or should not be included in the new government, and which qualities (e.g. determination, adaptability, independence) the respondents desired from political leaders in Finland.

Opinions on tax policy were examined with questions concerning whether different taxes should be increased or decreased and attitudes towards taxation were investigated with a series of statements (e.g. taxation in Finland is too harsh, tax cuts should not be made if they lead to the deterioration of social security and public services, tax cuts would increase tax revenue as economic activity would increase). The respondents' views on balancing Finland's public finances were investigated, and opinions on the reformation of labour legislation were surveyed with attitudinal statements on various measures that would limit workers' right to strike. The respondents were also asked to assess which factors (e.g. climate and weather, Finnish education system, cost of living and taxation, security and stability of Finnish society) would be attractive or unattractive for potential immigrants moving to Finland.

The respondents were asked which issues (e.g. relationship with Russia, relationship with USA, relationship with China, co-operation with Nordic countries, Finland's NATO membership, international crisis management) should be prioritised in Finland's foreign policy. Additionally, the respondents were asked how well-acquainted they were with issues concerning Finland's foreign policy and state security policy. Opinions were also charted on Finland's NATO membership, Finland's EU membership and the currency change to euro.

Background variables included the respondent's age group, number of inhabitants in the municipality of residence, region (NUTS3), type of employer, working hours, type of employment contract, education, economic activity and occupational status, employment sector, trade union membership, what political party would vote for in parliamentary elections, self-perceived social class, mother tongue and annual gross income of the respondent's household.