Pevkur had previously held this accolade under the Kaja Kallas-led Reform-SDE-Eesti 200 government, and last month returned as as defense minister in Prime Minister Kristen Michal's coalition.

The research, conducted by pollsters Kantar Emor, found Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi (Reform) and Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) were the next most trusted politicians among the public.

Respondents to the survey were given a list of politicians and asked to evaluate whom they found trustworthy.

In the overall ranking of government ministers by trustworthiness, Pevkur leads, with 30 percent of native Estonian-speaking respondents placing their stated trust in him. Education minister Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) and finance minister Jürgen Ligi (Reform) were found to be trustworthy by 25 percent of respondents, in both cases.

These are followed by Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) at 22 percent, Minister of Culture Heidy Purga (Reform, 20 percent), Minister of Health Riina Sikkut (SDE, 18 percent), and Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets (SDE, 17 percent).

Minister of Climate Yoko Alender (Reform) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) were next with trustworthiness ratings of 15 percent and 13 percent respectively.

The lowest levels of trust were recorded for Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta (Eesti 200) at 11 percent, Minister of Social Protection Signe Riisalo (Reform) at 10 percent, and Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Svet (SDE), also at 10 percent.

Of the above, Alender, Pakosta and Svet are first-time ministers; Ligi returned to office as finance minister, a post he held over a decade ago, while the remainder were in the preceding Reform-SDE-Eesti 200 administration, in office April 2023 to July this year.

Two other ministers, Piret Hartman (SDE), regional minister and a former culture minister, and Erkki Keldo (Reform), economic affairs minister, were not included in the results above.

This is because the trustworthiness rating was only applied to ministers who were recognizable to 50 percent or more of respondents.

Aivar Voog, head of research at Kantar Emor, said: "The overall trust in ministers of the partly new government as at the end of July has remained more or less the same compared with the start of summer."

"Among the new ministers, Jürgen Ligi is the most-trusted. However, while Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Svet ranks near the bottom in overall trust among the entire populace, he is the most trusted minister among non-ethnic Estonians," Voog added.

The data derived from a nationwide representative survey conducted by Kantar Emor, which took place online from August 15 to August 21, 2024.

A total of 1,138 Estonian residents aged 16 and over were polled.

Kantar Emor conducts its public confidence in ministers surveys on a regular basis.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!