(02/19/08) -

Reform Party Drops, Still First in Estonia

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The Estonian Reform Party (ER) holds a smaller lead over all other political organizations in the Baltic country, according to a poll by TNS Emor. 35 per cent of respondents would back the governing party, down four points since December.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The Estonian Reform Party (ER) holds a smaller lead over all other political organizations in the Baltic country, according to a poll by TNS Emor. 35 per cent of respondents would back the governing party, down four points since December.

The Estonian Centre Party (KESK) is second with 23 per cent, followed by the Union of Fatherland and Res Publica (IRPL) with 13 per cent, the Social Democratic Party (SDE) with 12 per cent, the Estonian Greens (EER) also with 12 per cent, and the Estonian People’s Union (ERL) with five per cent.

In March 2007, a legislative election took place in Estonia. Final results placed the ER in first place with 27.8 per cent of the vote, followed by the KESK with 26.1 per cent, and the IRPL with 17.9 per cent. In early April, the ER, the IRPL and the SDE agreed to form a government. ER leader Andrus Ansip retained his post as prime minister.

On Feb. 13, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced it will create a new body to better handle cyber attacks carried out against its members. The servers of Estonia’s national bank and public websites were blocked earlier this year.

Estonian defence minister Jaak Aaviksoo praised NATO’s decision to establish the new body, saying, "In my country, 90 per cent of tax declarations are carried out through the Internet. You can image the feeling of vulnerability of my people when those services were made unavailable due to an attack."

Polling Data

What party would you vote for in the next parliamentary election?

Source: TNS Emor
Methodology: Interviews with 775 Estonian adults, conducted from Jan. 9 to Jan. 30, 2008. No margin of error was provided.