Helsinki Green candidates would favour direct election of mayor

Only one in four Green supporters agree with majority of candidates

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Municipal election candidates of the different political parties in Helsinki oppose a direct election of the Mayor more so than do their voters. This disparity was uncovered when the results of a recent Helsingin Sanomat municipal election poll (see linked article) were compared against answers given to the municipal election voting engine by the candidates.
      The voting engine or "vaalikone" is maintained by Helsingin Sanomat and is accessible through the Internet.
     
In the last week of August, Suomen Gallup conducted a poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat to examine whether the Mayor of Helsinki should be chosen in a direct election or by the City Council.
      The present practice, in which the Mayor is chosen by the City Council, was satisfactory to 69% of respondents, while only 27% of Helsinki residents wanted a direct election of the Mayor.
      The views of the Green League and the Swedish People's Party (RKP) differ most from the opinion of the general voting public.
      Within the RKP just over a fifth of both the municipal election candidates and their supporters were in favour of the direct election of the Mayor.
      Of the Green League candidates, no less than two thirds would second the direct election, whereas only one in five of their supporters felt there was a need to divert from the present procedure, in which the mayor is selected by the City Council.
     
Only two percent of the National Coalition Party municipal election candidates regarded direct election as a valid method for choosing the Mayor of Helsinki.
      A fifth of their supporters were sympathetic to the idea.
      "The Mayor is first and foremost a civil servant, not a politician. The most suitable person should be appointed, not necessarily the most popular", reasons the National Coalition party group chairman Jan Vapaavuori.
     
The Helsingin Sanomat municipal election voting engine is an Internet-based tool that compares the voting public's answers to 20 topical questions with those given by the municipal election candidates. The engine will then recommend to the voters a selection of candidates who are the likeliest to share their views. A list of candidates offering the extreme opposite viewpoint is also given.
      The questions were prepared by the editorial staff of the Helsingin Sanomat Metro desk.
      A total of 11 slightly different engines are in use for different communities in the south of Finland, with a share of the questions touching on purely "local" issues, such as planned construction ventures.
      In most cases at least half of the candidates have supplied their own answers, while in Helsinki rather more than 70% have agreed to take part and measure their views against those of the public. Such engines have become quite popular in recent elections, and similar services have been offered by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Poll: Helsinki residents not interested in direct election of mayor (20.9.2004)

Links:
  Helsingin Sanomat Municipal Election Voting Engine (in Finnish)

Helsingin Sanomat