According to the survey, Urmas Reinsalu and Mihhail Kõlvart are the most popular prime ministerial candidates. Reinsalu is preferred among Estonians, while Kõlvart is favored among people of other nationalities.
Martin Mölder said that preferences for prime minister have not changed much over the past month. Reinsalu and Kõlvart remain the most popular. The current prime minister, Kristen Michal, is preferred by 10% of voters.
Supporters of each party prefer their own party leader as prime minister. The only exception is the Social Democrats. Many of their supporters cannot say who they would like to see as prime minister.
Among young people (18–24), half cannot say whom they would prefer as prime minister. Those who do know mostly prefer Mihhail Kõlvart.
The survey was conducted from December 15 to 21. A total of 1,001 people were interviewed. The results exclude "Don't know" responses.
The survey also asked who would be preferred as prime minister if the choice were limited to two candidates. In the Reinsalu vs. Kõlvart scenario, 46% preferred Reinsalu and 31% preferred Kõlvart. Among Estonians, 53% preferred Reinsalu and 23% preferred Kõlvart. Among people of other nationalities, 15% preferred Reinsalu and 67% preferred Kõlvart.
Reinsalu is more popular among supporters of Isamaa, the Conservative People's Party (EKRE), the Social Democrats (SDE), the Reform Party, and the Right-wingers. Kõlvart is more popular among supporters of the Center Party. Among EKRE supporters, 44% prefer Kõlvart.
In the Reinsalu vs. Michal scenario, 45% preferred Reinsalu and 22% preferred Michal. Reinsalu is more popular among supporters of Isamaa, EKRE, the Center Party, and the Right-wingers. Michal is more popular among supporters of the Reform Party and SDE.
In the Kõlvart vs. Michal scenario, 41% preferred Kõlvart and 33% preferred Michal. Among Estonians, 34% preferred Kõlvart and 38% preferred Michal. Among people of other nationalities, 72% preferred Kõlvart and 8% preferred Michal.
Mölder said that pairwise comparisons better reflect voters' preferences. Reinsalu has a stronger position than Kõlvart. If the Reform Party and Michal were not in the running, most voters would prefer Reinsalu.