Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb’s National Coalition Party plunged to its lowest backing since 1972 after failing to revive the economy of the northernmost euro member.
The group fell 2 percentage points to 17.4 percent backing as the opposition Center Party gained 2.2 percentage points to 24.5 percent, a poll in newspaper Helsingin Sanomat showed today. Were a general election held today, the party’s backing would be lowest since 1972, the newspaper said. The next election is scheduled for April 2015.
Stubb, who became party leader and premier in June, said in August that Finland is in the middle of a “lost decade.” Hurt by the difficulties of Nokia Oyj and its paper industry, Finland is in the middle of its second recession since 2008 that may extend into 2015. The government has implemented austerity measures to keep deficits in check as public debt has doubled to about
120 billion euros ($151 billion) since 2008.
The ruling coalition shrank to four parties in September after starting out with six in 2011 amid disagreements over austerity measures and nuclear energy policy. The government has failed to deliver on its key economic policy goals, falling short on halting debt growth by 2015 and missing its 1 percent central-government deficit target. It also hasn’t been able to raise the employment rate to 72 percent and last month lost its prized AAA credit rating.
A dimmer outlook has prompted many companies to cut jobs and growing numbers of unemployed people are giving up looking for employment. The jobless rate has risen to 8.2 percent, though the true rate may be closer to 12 percent, according to Markku Lahtinen, research director at Helsinki-based Pellervo Economic Research PTT.
The poll today had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points. TNS Gallup Oy interviewed 2,446 people by phone from Oct. 20 to Nov. 14.
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