TALLINN — A recent poll shows the Reform Party’s support increasing and the Center Party’s support declining slightly, making Estonia the only Baltic state where the current government remains popular.

The survey was commissioned by the Postimees newspaper and conducted by polling company Turu-uuringute AS. The results show that support for the Reform Party increased by 2 percent since October, while support for the Center Party declined by 3 percent. Support for Estonia’s right-wing parties has increased to 35 percent, while support for the left-wing parties Center and Social Democratic parties is down to 26 percent. The survey questioned 1,000 people from age 15 to 74 all over Estonia.

Turundus-uuringute CEO Tõnis Stamberg said that [private_supervisor]poll respondents thought Reform Party and the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica did well in governing the country in 2009 finishing the difficult budget rife with austerity measures.

Unlike it’s its left-wing counterparts in Lithuania and Latvia, the Center Party is failing to capitalize on economic discontent to improve its standing among voters. Unique among the Baltic states, the ruling coalition parties have not suffered losses in support despite the crisis and the unpopular measures introduced to combat it. While respondents did not like the Estonia’s high unemployment, they also disapproved of how the Tallinn municipality, controlled by the Center Party, handled its budget.

Stamberg said based on the results, a large shift in the electorate in one direction or another is not anticipated.

“Any person who knows anything about finance knows that things cannot continue this way,” Stamberg told Baltic Reports. “However the Reform Party and the Center Party have their core electorate, and some kind of larger shift in the society must happen to cause Reform Party or the Center Party to lose these voters.”

Stamberg said the ethnic Russians voters are solidly with the Center Party, as the right-wing parties typically only court ethnic Russian voters in the lead-up to elections.

Political analyst Toomas Alatalu said the uptick in support for the ruling coalition parties might be affected by the good news on Estonia’s potential switch to euro in 2011. He said Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip started talking about it at just the right time for voters, giving a ray of hope to  people struggling with the capsized economy.

“It must be admitted that Ansip is a good prime minister during the time of crisis. The politics of his government may make some social groups angry, but the prime minister’s tranquility and self-confidence compensates for that with positive news,” Alatalu told Baltic Reports.

Alatalu said that since the Center Party’s tactic in the recent months of strong opposition to the Reform Party agenda has not helped as the agenda is not so unpopular.

Kristen Michal, the secretary general of the Reform Party, points to Center Party’s misgoverning of Tallinn as the culprit of its poll decline.

“The declining support for the Center Party is caused by Tallinn’s sad situation, and news that were kept quiet before the elections saying how the capital city has not been well governed – now the city’s residents are paying for it,” Michal told Baltic Reports.

Prime Minister Ansip has been sharply critical of Tallinn city hall’s “social jobs” program, while finance minister Jürgen Ligi chastised the city’s recent budget as irresponsible.

Michal said voters appreciate the Reform Party and Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica efforts to cut public sector expenses and maintain investments, while they don’t like the Tallinn municipal government’s large expenses and rerouting of funds meant for investments.

“As a citizen of Tallinn I am worried how the city will financially manage until the end of this year,” Michal said. “People are not amused with that kind of mischief.”

Meanwhile the Center Party says the reason its not gaining in the polls is a lack of party discipline in sending out a clear message to voters. Kadri Simson, vice chair of the Center Party said that messages about how the ruling coalition’s decisions are affecting the average Estonian have been somewhat fragmented, therefore not presenting Center Party as a clear alternative to voters.

“The lack of attention on the panicked budget cuts has helped the Reform Party a little,” Simson told Baltic Reports. “The Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica does not stand out behind the the reformers in the coalition, their initiative has been put on hold which makes them to seem weak.”

— Baltic Reports editor Nathan Greenhalgh contributed to this article.

[/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]poll respondents thought Reform Party and the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica did well in governing the country in 2009 finishing the difficult budget rife with austerity measures.

Unlike it’s its left-wing counterparts in Lithuania and Latvia, the Center Party is failing to capitalize on economic discontent to improve its standing among voters. Unique among the Baltic states, the ruling coalition parties have not suffered losses in support despite the crisis and the unpopular measures introduced to combat it. While respondents did not like the Estonia’s high unemployment, they also disapproved of how the Tallinn municipality, controlled by the Center Party, handled its budget.

Stamberg said based on the results, a large shift in the electorate in one direction or another is not anticipated.

“Any person who knows anything about finance knows that things cannot continue this way,” Stamberg told Baltic Reports. “However the Reform Party and the Center Party have their core electorate, and some kind of larger shift in the society must happen to cause Reform Party or the Center Party to lose these voters.”

Stamberg said the ethnic Russians voters are solidly with the Center Party, as the right-wing parties typically only court ethnic Russian voters in the lead-up to elections.

Political analyst Toomas Alatalu said the uptick in support for the ruling coalition parties might be affected by the good news on Estonia’s potential switch to euro in 2011. He said Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip started talking about it at just the right time for voters, giving a ray of hope to people struggling with the capsized economy.

“It must be admitted that Ansip is a good prime minister during the time of crisis. The politics of his government may make some social groups angry, but the prime minister’s tranquility and self-confidence compensates for that with positive news,” Alatalu told Baltic Reports.

Alatalu said that since the Center Party’s tactic in the recent months of strong opposition to the Reform Party agenda has not helped as the agenda is not so unpopular.

Kristen Michal, the secretary general of the Reform Party, points to Center Party’s misgoverning of Tallinn as the culprit of its poll decline.

“The declining support for the Center Party is caused by Tallinn’s sad situation, and news that were kept quiet before the elections saying how the capital city has not been well governed – now the city’s residents are paying for it,” Michal told Baltic Reports.

Prime Minister Ansip has been sharply critical of Tallinn city hall’s “social jobs” program, while finance minister Jürgen Ligi chastised the city’s recent budget as irresponsible.

Michal said voters appreciate the Reform Party and Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica efforts to cut public sector expenses and maintain investments, while they don’t like the Tallinn municipal government’s large expenses and rerouting of funds meant for investments.

“As a citizen of Tallinn I am worried how the city will financially manage until the end of this year,” Michal said. “People are not amused with that kind of mischief.”

Meanwhile the Center Party says the reason its not gaining in the polls is a lack of party discipline in sending out a clear message to voters. Kadri Simson, vice chair of the Center Party said that messages about how the ruling coalition’s decisions are affecting the average Estonian have been somewhat fragmented, therefore not presenting Center Party as a clear alternative to voters.

“The lack of attention on the panicked budget cuts has helped the Reform Party a little,” Simson told Baltic Reports. “The Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica does not stand out behind the the reformers in the coalition, their initiative has been put on hold which makes them to seem weak.”

— Baltic Reports editor Nathan Greenhalgh contributed to this article. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]poll respondents thought Reform Party and the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica did well in governing the country in 2009 finishing the difficult budget rife with austerity measures.

Unlike it’s its left-wing counterparts in Lithuania and Latvia, the Center Party is failing to capitalize on economic discontent to improve its standing among voters. Unique among the Baltic states, the ruling coalition parties have not suffered losses in support despite the crisis and the unpopular measures introduced to combat it. While respondents did not like the Estonia’s high unemployment, they also disapproved of how the Tallinn municipality, controlled by the Center Party, handled its budget.

Stamberg said based on the results, a large shift in the electorate in one direction or another is not anticipated.

“Any person who knows anything about finance knows that things cannot continue this way,” Stamberg told Baltic Reports. “However the Reform Party and the Center Party have their core electorate, and some kind of larger shift in the society must happen to cause Reform Party or the Center Party to lose these voters.”

Stamberg said the ethnic Russians voters are solidly with the Center Party, as the right-wing parties typically only court ethnic Russian voters in the lead-up to elections.

Political analyst Toomas Alatalu said the uptick in support for the ruling coalition parties might be affected by the good news on Estonia’s potential switch to euro in 2011. He said Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip started talking about it at just the right time for voters, giving a ray of hope to people struggling with the capsized economy.

“It must be admitted that Ansip is a good prime minister during the time of crisis. The politics of his government may make some social groups angry, but the prime minister’s tranquility and self-confidence compensates for that with positive news,” Alatalu told Baltic Reports.

Alatalu said that since the Center Party’s tactic in the recent months of strong opposition to the Reform Party agenda has not helped as the agenda is not so unpopular.

Kristen Michal, the secretary general of the Reform Party, points to Center Party’s misgoverning of Tallinn as the culprit of its poll decline.

“The declining support for the Center Party is caused by Tallinn’s sad situation, and news that were kept quiet before the elections saying how the capital city has not been well governed – now the city’s residents are paying for it,” Michal told Baltic Reports.

Prime Minister Ansip has been sharply critical of Tallinn city hall’s “social jobs” program, while finance minister Jürgen Ligi chastised the city’s recent budget as irresponsible.

Michal said voters appreciate the Reform Party and Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica efforts to cut public sector expenses and maintain investments, while they don’t like the Tallinn municipal government’s large expenses and rerouting of funds meant for investments.

“As a citizen of Tallinn I am worried how the city will financially manage until the end of this year,” Michal said. “People are not amused with that kind of mischief.”

Meanwhile the Center Party says the reason its not gaining in the polls is a lack of party discipline in sending out a clear message to voters. Kadri Simson, vice chair of the Center Party said that messages about how the ruling coalition’s decisions are affecting the average Estonian have been somewhat fragmented, therefore not presenting Center Party as a clear alternative to voters.

“The lack of attention on the panicked budget cuts has helped the Reform Party a little,” Simson told Baltic Reports. “The Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica does not stand out behind the the reformers in the coalition, their initiative has been put on hold which makes them to seem weak.”

— Baltic Reports editor Nathan Greenhalgh contributed to this article. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]poll respondents thought Reform Party and the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica did well in governing the country in 2009 finishing the difficult budget rife with austerity measures.

Unlike it’s its left-wing counterparts in Lithuania and Latvia, the Center Party is failing to capitalize on economic discontent to improve its standing among voters. Unique among the Baltic states, the ruling coalition parties have not suffered losses in support despite the crisis and the unpopular measures introduced to combat it. While respondents did not like the Estonia’s high unemployment, they also disapproved of how the Tallinn municipality, controlled by the Center Party, handled its budget.

Stamberg said based on the results, a large shift in the electorate in one direction or another is not anticipated.

“Any person who knows anything about finance knows that things cannot continue this way,” Stamberg told Baltic Reports. “However the Reform Party and the Center Party have their core electorate, and some kind of larger shift in the society must happen to cause Reform Party or the Center Party to lose these voters.”

Stamberg said the ethnic Russians voters are solidly with the Center Party, as the right-wing parties typically only court ethnic Russian voters in the lead-up to elections.

Political analyst Toomas Alatalu said the uptick in support for the ruling coalition parties might be affected by the good news on Estonia’s potential switch to euro in 2011. He said Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip started talking about it at just the right time for voters, giving a ray of hope to people struggling with the capsized economy.

“It must be admitted that Ansip is a good prime minister during the time of crisis. The politics of his government may make some social groups angry, but the prime minister’s tranquility and self-confidence compensates for that with positive news,” Alatalu told Baltic Reports.

Alatalu said that since the Center Party’s tactic in the recent months of strong opposition to the Reform Party agenda has not helped as the agenda is not so unpopular.

Kristen Michal, the secretary general of the Reform Party, points to Center Party’s misgoverning of Tallinn as the culprit of its poll decline.

“The declining support for the Center Party is caused by Tallinn’s sad situation, and news that were kept quiet before the elections saying how the capital city has not been well governed – now the city’s residents are paying for it,” Michal told Baltic Reports.

Prime Minister Ansip has been sharply critical of Tallinn city hall’s “social jobs” program, while finance minister Jürgen Ligi chastised the city’s recent budget as irresponsible.

Michal said voters appreciate the Reform Party and Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica efforts to cut public sector expenses and maintain investments, while they don’t like the Tallinn municipal government’s large expenses and rerouting of funds meant for investments.

“As a citizen of Tallinn I am worried how the city will financially manage until the end of this year,” Michal said. “People are not amused with that kind of mischief.”

Meanwhile the Center Party says the reason its not gaining in the polls is a lack of party discipline in sending out a clear message to voters. Kadri Simson, vice chair of the Center Party said that messages about how the ruling coalition’s decisions are affecting the average Estonian have been somewhat fragmented, therefore not presenting Center Party as a clear alternative to voters.

“The lack of attention on the panicked budget cuts has helped the Reform Party a little,” Simson told Baltic Reports. “The Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica does not stand out behind the the reformers in the coalition, their initiative has been put on hold which makes them to seem weak.”

— Baltic Reports editor Nathan Greenhalgh contributed to this article. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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