The Swedish People's Party (SPP), a junior partner in the right-wing government, elects a new leader in mid-June, and a new poll shows a clear front-runner in the race.
Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Anders Adlercreutz is the strong favourite, according to a survey published on Saturday by the main Swedish-language daily Hufvudstadsbladet.
Besides Adlercreutz, two other candidates have announced their candidacy for the SPP leadership: MPs Otto Andersson and Henrik Wickström.
All three men are from the southern Uusimaa region, which includes the capital area. They are generally seen as more liberal on most issues than the outgoing party chair, Education Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson, who is from the more conservative Ostrobothnia region of western Finland.
Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they would prefer to see Adlercreutz as the SPP's next chair. Andersson and Wickström lagged considerably behind, with support of 9-10 percent.
The poll was conducted in recent weeks by the Social Science Research Institute at the Swedish-language Åbo Akademi university in Turku, which interviewed Swedish-speaking Finns in late April and early May.
Many SPP supporters still undecided
The poll indicates considerable uncertainty, with just as many respondents saying they are undecided as those voicing support for Adlercreutz, a 45-year-old architect from Kirkkonummi.
There was more uncertainty among women than men, with 45 percent of Swedish-speaking women saying they did not know which candidate they preferred. A majority of younger voters were also unsure.
The SPP is to elect a new chair at a conference in Helsinki, scheduled for 14-16 June.
Henriksson, who has led the party since 2016, is stepping down to run for the European Parliament. At 60, she is the longest serving of the current cabinet members, having held various government portfolios since June 2011.
A recent Yle poll suggests that her election as an MEP is far from certain, with the party likely remaining without representation in the European Parliament for the first time.
Over 2,100 people responded to the survey. The research institute estimates the margin of error at between 1.3 and 2.1 percentage points.
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