The results show that the views of the political leadership, the President and the Prime Minister, have a significant impact on public views on the Defense League. In a poll commissioned last month by the newspaper, which did not specify the role of political leadership, support for membership was measured at 28%, the highest figure since the first edition in 2002.
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Sakari NurmelaKantar TNS’s director of research recalled on Tuesday that membership is a broad issue that can be difficult to grasp.
“It is therefore only natural that more and more people should take a favorable view of NATO if the political decision-makers, the president and the prime minister, think this is a good thing for us,” he explained.
The survey also included a multiple-choice question for and against NATO membership.
Almost half (46%) of respondents considered the principle of common defense and the deterrent effect to be essential criteria for joining. More than a third (35%) thought that membership would help secure the country’s international position and 27% that membership would strengthen the country’s position vis-à-vis Russia.
The most common argument against membership, chosen by 57% of respondents, was its detrimental effect on Finnish-Russian relations. Almost half (47%) of the respondents considered the possibility that Finnish troops would have to take part in armed conflicts abroad as grounds for joining NATO.
Finns see both opportunities and risks in membership, Nurmela summed up.
“The biggest difference between the results is the security provided by NATO for the rainy day and [concerns about] how things would be handled with Russia. It’s something that’s on people’s minds, ”he watched. “When you share a boundary and history, it’s sure to show. Clearly, people want to maintain a good relationship.
Surprisingly, the Coalition Party’s supporters had the most positive views: two-thirds of them said they would support membership if it were also supported by the political leadership. Proponents of the Left Alliance had the most reservations, with only a fifth of them saying they were in favor.
Nurmela saw that in addition to the two extremes, a large part of the audience has a pragmatic position on the issue.
“Basic Finns also have several supporters who oppose the matter in principle,” he said. “Then there are others who can weigh the situation from their own perspective. It may be typical for them to think that there are factors that speak in favor of membership and factors that speak in favor of membership.
Kantar TNS interviewed for the survey on 4-9. February 1,066 people.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page