A third of voters steadfastly opposed to Haavisto; fewer reject Niinistö out of hand

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Green League presidential candidate Pekka Haavisto attracts more negative responses from voters than the National Coalition Party’s Sauli Niinistö.
      A poll released by the television network Nelonen shows that 33 per cent of respondents were staunchly opposed to Haavisto, and would not vote for him under any circumstances. Just 17 per cent felt the same way about Niinistö.
      Four per cent said that they could not vote for either one, and 38 per cent found both candidates acceptable.
     
Haavisto’s negatives were highest among men, 39 per cent of whom felt that they could not support him. Only 27 per cent of women felt the same way.
      Meanwhile, Niinistö was more steadfastly opposed by women than men, with 14 per cent of men and 21 per cent of women declaring that voting for Niinistö would be impossible.
      The survey also shows that young voters under the age of 34 are the only group in which Niinistö gets more negatives than Haavisto. Haavisto’s negatives are lowest in the Helsinki region, but even there they are greater than Niinistö’s.
     
More than half of the supporters of the Christian Democratic Party, the National Coalition Party, the Centre Party and the The Finns Party are staunchly opposed to Haavisto.
      Supporters of the Greens and the Left Alliance are the only ones to give more negatives to Niinistö than to Haavisto.
      The situation is closer among supporters of the Social Democratic Party, 28 per cent of whom could not imagine voting for Haavisto, while 24 per cent said that Niinistö's number on the ballot-paper would be impossible for them.
     
Respondents were also asked if their favourite made it into the second round.
      Nearly half - 47 per cent - said that their own favourite is still in the running*, while 29 per cent said that they have to choose the lesser of two evils.
      Nearly one in five felt that the choice was difficult because both candidates are good.
      The survey involved interviews with about 1,000 Finns in late January. The margin of error is three percentage points in either direction.
     
     
*In the first round of voting, Niinistö collected 37.0%, while Haavisto had the support of 18.8% of voters. One possible explanation for the apparent discrepancy could involve tactical voting in the first round.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Poll: Niinistö maintains lead over Haavisto (31.1.2012)

Helsingin Sanomat