Vanhanen increasingly popular as next Prime Minister
Poll shows half want incumbent to stay as head of government
Matti Vanhanen
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Centre Party leader and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen is an increasingly popular choice as the next PM. According to a fresh poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat and conducted by Suomen Gallup, about half of Finnish voters want Vanhanen to hold the post after Parliamentary elections in March.
As Vanhanen's popularity has increased, the numbers of Social Democratic Party leader Eero Heinäluoma and the National Coalition Party's Jyrki Katainen have remained about the same.
The figures show that Heinäluoma has actually lost one percentage point from a previous poll in January, going down to 11 per cent, while Katainen has gone down two points to seven per cent. The changes fall within the poll's margin of error.
One in six voters would choose someone other than a leader of one of the three largest parties, while one in six would not express an opinion. "Someone else" has gained popularity as an option, while the proportion of those who are undecided has declined.
The survey provides food for thought for Katainen especially, as only 26 per cent of supporters of his own party feel that he is the best candidate for Prime Minister. Nearly as many National Coalition Party supporters preferred Vanhanen.
Among supporters of the National Coalition Party, "someone else" got the support of 41 per cent. As was the case in a previous survey, many of the party's supporters gave a name without being asked to: Sauli Niinistö.
Katainen's own popularity among his party's supporters has declined by ten percentage points in the past month.
Centre Party supporters are almost unanimously behind Vanhanen, who comes out slightly ahead of Social Democratic candidate Heinäluoma even among SDP voters.
Supporters of the Left Alliance and the Greens also tend to prefer Vanhanen over Heinäluoma. Jyrki Katainen has very few supporters outside the National Coalition Party.
Among Green and Left Alliance voters, "someone else" has gained popularity since January.
More than one third of respondents said that the Centre Party should hold the post of Prime Minister - a seven percentage-point increase from January.
The Social Democrats and the National Coalition Party have barely held on to their previous position, with 18 per cent wanting a Social Democratic Prime Minister, and 15 per cent preferring the National Coalition Party. One in four did not have an opinion, or did not express one.
The poll involved interviews with 1,000 Finns conducted between February 12th through 22nd.
The margin of error was up to three percentage points in either direction.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 28.2.2007 - TODAY |
 Vanhanen increasingly popular as next Prime Minister |
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