Center Party Chairman Mihhail Kõlvart has knocked Isamaa leader Urmas Reinsalu off the top spot in the Delfi and Turu-uuringute AS poll on preferred prime minister candidates.
Reinsalu had already matched his lowest approval rating in three years last month, at 18 percent, but his support fell further in October, with just 16 percent of voters now preferring him as prime minister, Delfi reported Wednesday.
Kõlvart, meanwhile, saw a surge in support, with 20 percent of respondents now preferring him as prime minister, his highest rating ever in the survey, Delfi noted. In May this year, Kõlvart's rating climbed to 19 percent, putting him level with Reinsalu at the time, before falling back to 16 percent.
Commenting on the results, Turu-uuringute AS CEO Tõnis Stamberg told Delfi that Kõlvart's rise was driven by increased support among ethnic Estonian voters. Kõlvart is backed by 13 percent of ethnic Estonians and 50 percent of ethnic Russians, compared with 18 percent and 6 percent, respectively, for Reinsalu. As recently as August, Kõlvart had the support of 11 percent of ethnic Estonians, compared with 22 percent for Reinsalu, indicating that Kõlvart has gained ground among ethnic Estonian voters while Reinsalu has lost support.
Kõlvart's support increased among both rural and urban residents, while Reinsalu lost ground among urban voters. However, Reinsalu managed to maintain his support among rural residents at 21 percent for a month. In October, Kõlvart gained support among respondents with the lowest and highest levels of education, while Reinsalu saw his biggest losses among those with the lowest levels of education, with smaller declines among university-educated respondents.
Asked whom they would prefer to see as prime minister, 20 percent of respondents in October named Kõlvart, 16 percent Reinsalu, 13 percent Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) Chairman Martin Helme, 10 percent Eesti Parempoolsed leader Lavly Perling, 7 percent Social Democratic Party Chairman Lauri Läänemets, 5 percent Reform Party Chairman and incumbent Prime Minister Kristen Michal, and 2 percent Estonia 200 leader Kristina Kallas. Another 27 percent were unable to say.
Turu-uuringute AS conducted the survey for Delfi online and by telephone from October 1 to 3, with 899 Estonian citizens ages 18 and older responding.
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