Kansanedustajaehdokkaat ja raittiustavoitteet

Authors

• Jaakko Nikula

Abstract

As the 2007 parliamentary elections approached, the organisation Friends of Temperance con­ducted a survey among the candidates of parties represented in the Parliament. The survey aimed to further the candidates’ awareness of alcohol policy issues and communicate the results to vot­ers. This article deals with the results of the survey in light of the election outcome and reference material available. Overall, the survey results suggest that parliamentary candidates are not fully aware of the key role of the Parliament in decision-making involving alcohol policy, and conse­quently, in safeguarding the health of Finnish citizens. The survey was answered by 694 parlia­mentary candidates, which was only 34.6 percent of all candidates. Those who had already served one term or more as a member of parliament were less likely to respond than first-time candidates. There were also differences in the response rates between parties and geographic re­gions. The low number of respondents limits the reliability of the analysis of the response data. The responses can in part be compared to the responses of a survey among the Finnish popula­tion, which brings an interesting additional aspect to the analysis. The parliamentary candidates who answered the survey chose responses favourable to temperance more often than the popula­tion at large. The research material did not reveal the reason for the discrepancy between the two groups.