Reform Party drops in polls
According to the latest Turu-uuringute AS political party poll, the Reform Party's rating has dropped significantly since the last elections, with only 22 percent saying they would vote for the party.
IRL fared no better, scoring 10 percent, with the Social Democrats the only coalition party to gain in popularity. The Reform Party picked up 27.7 percent of the vote at the March 1 elections, IRL won 13.7 percent and the Social Democrats 15.2 percent.
The Center Party's rating is at 26 percent, above the 24.8 percent they received at the elections. The Conservative People's Party scored 7 percent in the recent poll and 8.1 percent at the elections.
The biggest winner was the Free Party, which saw its 8.7-percent-election-take increase to 12 percent in the popularity ratings.
Around 35 percent said they support the new coalition, with the same percentage rejecting it. 70 percent were happy with the election results.
Juhan Kivirähk of Turu-uuringute AS said IRL and Reform Party supporters are more likely to back the coalition, compared to the Social Democrat voters.
Reform Party minister Jürgen Ligi said the party has been criticized in the media and has taken the most heat from the drawn-out coalition talks.
Kadri Simson, acting head of the Center Party, said the results clearly show that the majority of the people want something other than the Reform Party's “firmly forward” politics. She added that realty has set in and people will be worse off thanks to the indirect tax hikes.
Social Democrat minister Indrek Saar said the poll reflects the fact that people are happy with the social democratic face of the coalition treaty, while IRL's Urmas Reinsalu downplayed the numbers, saying actions will count more.
Andres Herkel, head of the Free Party, said his party's principles have become more clear in society.
Editor: J.M. Laats