Support for Centre Party in Tallinn Slips to 25%
A survey of Tallinn voters has found that support for the Centre Party at the municipal government level stood at just 25 percent in February, an 8 percent drop since the time of the previous poll last summer.
The result, if accurate, marks a significant slide from the 53.5 percent of votes the party received in Tallinn when it won the local elections in 2009.
None of the other three parties fared better, however. Support for Reform came in at 12 percent, the Social Democrats at 8 percent and IRL at 3 percent, all down from their previous showings, a statement from the city's press office said.
In the survey, which was commissioned by the Tallinn City Government and conducted by Faktum & Ariko, 515 voting-age residents were asked which party they would vote for if elections were held tomorrow.
Over a third of respondents said they hadn't decided which party to choose and 13 percent said they would not vote at all.
Mihkel Solvak, a political scientist at the University of Tartu, said the results should not be taken too seriously.
Fluctuations by a couple of percentage points are common in such surveys, he said. "Also, the elections are still a very long way off and support will only crystallize as they are approaching," he added.
Solvak said that the Centre Party's recent ousting of MP Kalle Laanet, the bribery scandal among city officials and the contoversy supprounding the referendum on free public transport were unlikely to impact support for the party, and that it would take a much bigger shakeup to send voters into the arms of the opposition.
Municipal elections will be held in October 2013.
Steve Roman