Among the Basic Finns’ position, men make up about 70 percent and the coalition’s 60 percent, while women make up about two-thirds of the Greens and the left-wing coalition. The Center and the Social Democrats are the only two of the six largest parliamentary parties whose base is roughly evenly divided between men and women.
The correlation of gender with political preferences is not a new phenomenon. Sami MetelinenEva’s editor-in-chief told Helsingin Sanomat that the phenomenon has become more prominent after the 2019 parliamentary elections.
“If you go back in time 10–20 years, there were more blue-collar men among the supporters of the Left Alliance. It has moved in the direction of women and young people, he stated to the newspaper.
– Basic Finns are at the other end of the church. 70 percent of its supporters are men, and this number has actually increased.
Preferences are based on different priorities. Men prioritize safety and healthy public finances more than women, while women prioritize well-being and environmental issues, reveals Eva’s recent value and attitude survey. The survey is based on the answers given by 2,043 people between January 31 and February 13, 2023.
Gender may be the primary, but not the only, factor that differentiates parties’ support bases. According to Eva, factors such as age, professional group and sector of working life also correlate with voters’ party preference.
For example, the Green League is popular not only among women but also among students. The national coalition is popular among high-income earners. The Social Democratic Party is popular among pensioners and service workers.
Since Vihreä is the party favored by students, it is no surprise that more than half of its supporters are highly educated. The proportion of highly educated supporters is higher only in the coalition.
Although Vasemistoliitto receives almost 20 percent of its support from students, it receives almost as much support from workers and management staff.
Basic Finns and the Coalition are parties favored by entrepreneurs, but different in other respects: while the share of management personnel is more than half of the latter’s supporters, the former receives support from the unemployed, employees and management personnel. . The center is the best choice for agricultural entrepreneurs, but due to the small size of the group, it receives most of its support from management staff.
“The background differences of the parties’ supporters may indicate that Finland’s party political landscape is at a turning point. Professional groups no longer divide party voters into left and right, but rather the division is based on whether they work in industry or services,” Metelinen wrote.
Basic Finns is an exception in the geographical distribution of supporters. It is the only one of the six parties that has a larger number of supporters in towns with less than 30,000 inhabitants than in towns with more than 80,000 inhabitants.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page
