Study title

The survey studied Finnish political attitudes and opinions on political parties. Respondents were asked how favourable their opinion was regarding the Finnish Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party of Finland, the National Coalition Party, the Left Alliance and the Green League and how tempted respondents would be to vote for these parties. A number of attributes (e.g. incompetent leaders, competent in EU issues) were listed and respondents were asked to which party they could be applied. Respondents were asked whether they support any party at that moment. Respondents rated how successful the current government has been and which parties they would like to see in the coalition government after the elections. Views on the characteristics of some well-known politicians were probed. Respondents were also asked which characteristics are necessary for political decision-makers. Opinions on which goals receive too much or too little attention in politics were charted; goals mentioned included lowering taxes, employment, prevention of inflation, equality, national economy, housing etc. Voting behaviour was studied by asking which party the respondent would vote for if the parliamentary elections were held at that moment and whether he/she had voted in the 2000 municipal elections and in the 1999 parliamentary elections. Voting in parliamentary elections in general, voting intention relating to the next elections and the overall importance of voting were surveyed. Further questions covered respondents' political orientation (on the left-right axis) and social class. Background variables included respondents' year of birth, marital status, annual gross income, place of residence, occupational group, employment sector, trade union membership and mother tongue.