Ratings: Estonia 200 overtakes EKRE
Non-parliamentary party Estonia 200 (Eesti 200) is now third-most popular in the land, outstripping two of the coalition parties, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Isamaa, as well as the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDE), according to a recent survey.
The research, conducted by pollsters Norstat on behalf of conservative think-tank the Institute for Social Research (MTÜ Ühiskonnauuringute Instituut) found that the opposition Reform Party remains most-supported on 31.1 percent of respondents, followed by the coalition Center party on 21 percent. Norstat aggregated its results over the period November 11 to December 7.
In third place was Estonia 200. Formed in 2018, the party contested its first election in March 2019 – the elections to the Riigikogu – narrowly missing out on reaching the 5 percent threshold required to win seats.
EKRE, which has 19 Riigikogu seats and entered office for the first time in late April 2019, has thus been supplanted by Estonia 200, at least according to Norstat's results, and lies in fourth place on 13.6 percent of support. EKRE's support has fallen for five weeks in a row, Norstat says, and is at its lowest level for 2020 with three weeks of the year to go.
SDE are fifth (8.2 percent) followed by coalition party Isamaa on 5.9 percent.
Estonia 200's result continues a trend which started several weeks ago; the party has practically doubled its support in a couple of months, Norstat says.
The top three are followed by the Estonian Conservative People's Party with 13.6 percent, the Social Democratic Party (SDE) with 8.2 percent and the Fatherland with 5.9 percent.
The three coalition parties together are marginally better supported than the opposition parties (i.e. excluding Estonia 200), at 40.5 percent versus 39.3 percent.
Norstat says it polled a little over 4,000 Estonian citizens of voting age, in its survey.
The next elections are to local government, in autumn 2021.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte