Dissatisfaction with the performance of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) has increased considerably in the past six months. In a fresh poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat and conducted by Suomen Gallup, two out of five give the Prime Minister very poor to fairly poor marks.
The assessment may have been even worse, as the controversy over election campaign financing was at an early stage when the poll was taken.
The interviews for the poll were taken from early to mid June, and the responses toward the end of the period were more negative on average than in the previous week.
The decline in popularity for Vanhanen was significant, compared with two years ago, when 84 per cent gave him good or very good marks.
Juhani Pehkonen of Suomen Gallup says that the high approval rating from six months back is now over. “Assessments have moved from fairly positive marks to fairly weak ones.”
Of the parties in the four-party coalition government, the Centre Party has suffered the most. Nearly half of respondents give the Centre a poor rating. The National Coalition Party is also slightly losing ground, while the Swedish People’s Party is unchanged.
The Green League is the government party to improve its standing, with 55 per cent of respondents saying that the Greens have succeeded in their mission.
