Authors

• Finnish Research Infrastructure for Public Opinion (FIRIPO)
• Rapeli, Lauri (Åbo Akademi University)

Keywords

attitudes, decision making, democracy, local government, political attitudes, political behaviour, political parties, politics, social systems

Abstract

The questionnaire surveys the attitudes and opinions of decision-makers towards Finnish democracy and society, as well as decision-making in the respondents' home municipalities. The respondents are municipal councilors. The data was collected as part of the Politician Panel, which is part of The Finnish Research Infrastructure for Public Opinion (FIRIPO).

First, respondents were asked about their general opinions and attitudes towards Finnish society and democracy. Respondents were also asked to place themselves on the left-right axis. The next questions dealt with decision-making in the respondents' home municipality by asking, for example, how much influence certain actors have in the municipality. Finally, respondents were asked to rate how much influence they felt they could have on certain issues in the municipality as a municipal decision-maker.

The background variables are age categorised, mother tongue, level of education, party membership, electoral district and information on how long they have been in local government.