Reinsalu narrowly leads prime minister preference poll

Isamaa leader Urmas Reinsalu remains the most preferred candidate for prime minister among Estonian citizens, narrowly ahead of Centre Party leader Mihhail Kõlvart, according to a poll by Norstat and the MTÜ Institute for Social Research, reported by ERR.

Reinsalu was preferred by 24 percent of respondents, Kõlvart by 23 percent and Martin Helme by 14 percent.

They were followed by Kristen Michal and Lavly Perling, both on 12 percent, Lauri Läänemets on 9 percent and Kristina Kallas on 6 percent.

The share of respondents preferring Michal as prime minister rose by two percentage points over the month.

Reinsalu was the most popular choice among Isamaa supporters, with 81 percent, while Helme led among EKRE supporters with 80 percent. Kõlvart was preferred by 77 percent of Centre Party supporters, Perling by 74 percent of Parempoolsed supporters, Michal by 70 percent of Reform Party supporters and Läänemets by 58 percent of Social Democratic Party supporters.

Respondents were also asked to choose between pairs of candidates. If the choice were between Reinsalu and Michal, 50 percent would prefer Reinsalu and 24 percent Michal, while 26 percent were unable to say.

Between Kõlvart and Michal, 44 percent preferred Kõlvart and 36 percent Michal. A further 21 percent could not say.

Between Reinsalu and Kõlvart, 53 percent preferred Reinsalu and 30 percent Kõlvart, while 17 percent were unable to say.

The prime minister question is added once a month to the weekly party preference poll. The latest results cover the period from September 7 to 13 and are based on interviews with 1,000 Estonian citizens of voting age.

The survey used a combined method of telephone and online polling, with telephone respondents making up the clear majority. As with party support figures, the results exclude respondents who were unable to state a preference.