SDP reaches 20-year high according to Yle party poll

By admin On Sep 4, 2025

Yle’s poll: SDP returns as the most popular party once again. Photo: Vesa Moilanen / Lehtikuva

Support for Finland’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) has climbed to 25.8%, the highest level recorded in two decades, according to Yle’s latest monthly poll.

The figures, gathered by Taloustutkimus between 11 August and 2 September, show a 1.1 percentage point rise for the opposition party compared to the previous month. SDP, led by Antti Lindtman, now holds a lead of over six percentage points ahead of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), which remains steady at 19.2%.

The Centre Party (Keskusta) continues in third place at 14.7%, down 0.4 points. The Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset), also part of the governing coalition, has edged up by 0.5 points to 12.8%, recovering some ground lost in earlier months but still below previous highs.

SDP’s rise has been attributed to support from several voter groups. Tuomo Turja, Research Director at Taloustutkimus, said the party is attracting former voters from the Greens, Left Alliance, Swedish People’s Party (RKP), and even the Finns Party.

“A significant share of SDP’s growth is coming from those who did not vote in the last elections. About 40 percent of these so-called ‘sleepers’ would now back the Social Democrats,” Turja said.

Whether this support will translate into actual votes in future elections remains uncertain.

Turja noted that the Greens recorded the largest monthly drop, down nearly a full point to 7.7%. The Left Alliance fell by 0.6 points to 9.5%. The Greens and the Left have both lost voters to the SDP, according to the data.

Among the smaller governing parties, the Christian Democrats (KD) have overtaken the RKP after a 0.5-point increase to 3.9%. Support for the RKP dropped by the same margin to 3.5%.

Turja said internal tensions in the government may have affected RKP support. “Voters are not necessarily satisfied with the party’s cooperation with the Finns Party,” he said.

The combined support for the four-party coalition government now stands at 39.4%. At the same point in their respective terms, Sanna Marin’s cabinet polled at 55%, and Juha Sipilä’s at 38.4%.

The Finns Party, while improving slightly this month, continues to see a long-term decline among its core working-class base. At its peak, the party commanded 30% or more in this demographic. Today, support has dropped to 20%.

Turja said support had briefly risen during the first half of the polling period, but dropped again towards the end, coinciding with a series of public controversies. These included a parliamentary group meeting in Oulu where party leader Riikka Purra addressed population replacement theories, a contentious budget session, and media appearances by deputy chair Teemu Keskisarja.

While direct causality cannot be confirmed, the fluctuations in support reflect the volatile nature of the party’s recent public profile.

Keskusta’s slight fall follows a modest improvement in earlier months. Turja said some of its voters appear to be moving towards the Finns Party.

In total, 2,266 people took part in the survey, with 1,645 respondents providing their current party preference. The margin of error is ±2.1 percentage points.

Yle commissioned the poll, which reflects the views of residents in mainland Finland aged 18 and over. Åland was excluded from the sample.

Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi