Prime Minister Vanhanen's popularity remains largely unchanged

Vanhanen more popular than his government

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Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) remains popular among Finns, two years after taking office.
      One in four Finns feel that Vanhanen has succeeded very well, while six out of ten rate his performance as fairly good.
     
Vanhanen is slightly more popular than his government as a whole, as has been the case throughout his term in office.
      The information is from a fresh poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat and conducted by Suomen Gallup.
      In the poll, respondents were asked about the performance of Vanhanen's government, Vanhanen himself, and the political opposition.
      Overwhelmingly the most satisfied with the Prime Minister are supporters of the Centre Party and the Social Democrats, the two major players in the coalition government. However, he also gets high marks from supporters of opposition parties.
      Eight out of ten supporters of the opposition National Coalition Party give Vanhanen high marks, and he is nearly as popular among supporters of the Green League.
     
The most critical toward the Prime Minister are supporters of the Left Alliance, just under one-third of whom are not satisfied with his performance.
      Vanhanen is slightly more popular in rural areas than in the cities. There was no measurable gender difference.
      Pensioners were clearly more pleased with the Prime Minister than younger respondents.
     
The government as a whole gets slightly more negative marks in this June poll than six months ago. This time there are slightly fewer positive views and more negative ones than in December 2004.
      Nevertheless, a clear majority, 72%, feel that the government has fulfilled its tasks successfully. This is down from 79% in December's poll.
      One in four respondents in the latest poll give the government poor marks, up from 16% in December.
      Supporters of the main government parties, the Social Democrats and the Centre, are again clearly the most satisfied with the government.
      Appreciation is also high among voters who support the National Coalition Party, although not quite as high as in December.
      Seven out of ten supporters of the National Coalition Party feel that the government has functioned well.
      Supporters of the Greens are clearly less satisfied with Vanhanen's team than before. There has been no change in attitude among Left Alliance supporters.
     
Support for the main government parties has declined somewhat from the situation six months ago.
      Nonetheless, more than 60% of respondents said that both the Centre Party and the Social Democrats had succeeded well at their task.
      Supporters of the main government parties also appreciate each other as government partners: more than 60% of the supporters of each party give high marks to their government partners.
      Among the opposition, the Centre Party gets appreciation from supporters of the National Coalition Party, while the Social Democratic Party is appreciated by Green voters.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Popularity of Vanhanen government grows (30.12.2004)

Helsingin Sanomat