Media Star PM Boosts Finland’s Social Democrats in Latest Poll
Media Star PM Boosts Finland’s Social Democrats in Latest Poll
(Bloomberg) -- The appointment of Sanna Marin as Finland’s prime minister has reversed the dwindling fortunes of her Social Democratic party, according to the latest poll from broadcaster YLE.
Support for Marin’s Social Democrats rose 1.7 percentage points from the previous month to 14.9%, the biggest jump of any group. Their main partner in the governing coalition, the Center Party, added 1.4 percentage points to 12.0%.
The anti-immigration Finns Party continues to lead, with its support unchanged at 24.3%, followed by the opposition National Coalition on 19.3%.
Marin, 34, was sworn in on Dec. 10 and shot to instant fame as the youngest premier in the world (a title she recently lost to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz). She has since made international headlines, most recently over incorrect media reports suggesting her government is about to drastically cut working hours.
The Social Democrats have been banking on Marin to boost their poll numbers, which had been sliding under previous premier Antti Rinne.
YLE commissioned the poll from Taloustutkimus Oy, with 1,461 respondents surveyed by phone from Dec. 9 to Jan. 8. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kati Pohjanpalo in Helsinki at kpohjanpalo@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo
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