Poll: Satisfaction with prime minister, cabinet up sharply since January
Public satisfaction with the work of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) and of the Reform-Center coalition government she heads up has risen by over 20 percentage points since January, according to a recent survey.
Forty-seven percent of respondents to the survey, conducted by Norstat on behalf of Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (MTÜ Ühiskonnauuringute Instituut), said they "approve" of Kallas' ability to perform her role as premier, compared with 43 percent who said they "disapprove". The remainder responded that they were unable to say either way.
As to the government itself, the survey polled respondents for their views on how well the government was going, with 59 percent saying "very well"/ "quite well" and 35 percent answering "quite badly" or "very badly".
A poll posing the same questions held in late January found 26 percent of respondents approving of Kallas' work and 35 percent expressing satisfactions in her government's performance.
That poll pre-dates Russia's invasion of Ukraine and came at a time when the government's popularity was at a low due to the soaring natural gas, electricity and heating prices.
When broken down by party preference, Reform voters expressed satisfaction both with the work of the prime minister and of the government, as did voters for the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDE) and non-parliamentary party Eesti 200.
While Center Party voters were mostly satisfied with the government's work, however, a majority of them were dissatisfied with the prime minister's work, they survey said.
Voters for the opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), along with Isamaa voters, a party also in opposition, were predominantly dissatisfied with the work of both prime minister and her government, according to the poll.
University of Tartu political scientist Martin Mõlder noted that Reform has found its leader and chief in the transformed security situation.
While public condemnation of the Reform Party and of Kaja Kallas, who became prime minister in late January 2021, was very common during the latter waves of the Covid crisis, as well as in the wake of the rising energy prices, it is now clear that both the party its leader have gained significant support, Mölder noted.
Norstat says it conducted its poll in the week March 21-28 and surveyed a little over a thousand Estonian citizens of voting age, via both 'phone and online questionnaires.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
