Persson closing on Reinfeldt in popularity race

With the election barely five months away it may be voting intentions that the parties' poll analysts are most concerned about.

Published: 9 April 2006 12:46 CEST

But the leaders of the two main parties – Prime Minister Göran Persson and Moderates leader Fredrik Reinfeldt – could be forgiven for showing considerable interest in the latest popularity poll from Skop.

“If you were invited to a party, would you have a nicer time and more fun if you sat at the same table as Göran Persson or Fredrik Reinfeldt?” was the question put to a sample of voters.

Fredrik Reinfeldt is still the favoured dinner partner – but Göran Persson is clawing back some lost popularity.

45.6% of voters said that they would prefer to sit beside the prime minister – an improvement on the result before Christmas when fewer than 40% fancied his company.

Reinfeldt’s relative popularity has declined slightly, down to 54.4% from just over 60% before Christmas.

The gap between the two men has been as large as 21.8 percentage points and according to Birgitta Hultåker at Skop, Persson is winning support in almost all groups, irrespective of gender, location, employment category or age.

Only among those aged over 75 is Persson’s popularity continuing to decline.

TT/The Local