(04/06/08) -

Governing Party Losing Ground in Estonia

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Support for the ruling Estonian Reform Party (ER) has declined over the past month, according to a poll by TNS Emor. 30 per cent of respondents would vote for the ER in the next legislative election, down five points since January.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Support for the ruling Estonian Reform Party (ER) has declined over the past month, according to a poll by TNS Emor. 30 per cent of respondents would vote for the ER in the next legislative election, down five points since January.

The Estonian Centre Party (KESK) is second with 27 per cent—up four points in two months—followed by the Union of Fatherland and Res Publica (IRPL) with 16 per cent, the Social Democratic Party (SDE) with 12 per cent, the Estonian Greens (EER) with eight per cent, and the Estonian People’s Union (ERL) with four 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.

In mid-March, Ansip said Estonia could be ready to adopt the euro by the scheduled date, saying, "The country’s budget surplus would grow more slowly this year than in previous years. (…) We are still confident we will meet the Maastricht inflation criteria in 2010 and we can join the euro zone in 2011, but not everything is in our hands. I see some spending cuts this year. This year we will try to freeze public spending in Estonia."

Polling Data

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

Source: TNS Emor
Methodology: Interviews with 781 Estonian adults, conducted from Mar. 5 to Mar. 26, 2008. No margin of error was provided.