President Medvedev' rating is dropping, while Prime Minister Putin's Holds
According to the latest VTsIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Centre) poll, only 13% of respondents expect that Government measures will result in a quick, positive effect, while 32% of respondents hope that things will change for the better in the medium term. This means that less than 45% of the population thinks positively of the Government's anti-crisis plan. Still, the number of those strongly critical of the authorities is not high - only 8%. Even fewer are calling for the Government's resignation - 1%. The rest have either no hopes or opinion.
Of 1600 respondents from 140 settlements, those from Siberia trust the Government plan the most. Among them, 19% believe that things will change for the better in the near future. Residents in the Central Federal District are the most critically disposed - 13% believe that the plan is a total failure.
Respondents were asked to offer their advice for the Government. The most popular comments were to curb graft, support the poor instead of the bankers, create jobs, and develop agriculture.
According to a poll, conducted by Obschestvennoye Mnenie (Public Opinion) fund, President Medvedev's rating in April was considerably lower than earlier in the year.
Fifty percent of respondents trust Dmitry Medvedev (56% in January), while 16% (as opposed to 13% earlier in the year) do not trust the President. The Prime Minister's rating, however, has not changed - 69% of respondents trust him, as opposed to 11% of those who do not. Nevertheless, 30% of respondents (2000 people from 100 settlements) said that they were willing to take part in protests - and this is only one of the public opinion paradoxes.
"The majority of people believe that the Prime Minister is good, while they also believe that the Government is bad," VTsIOM's Political Research Department head Stepan Lvov told MK. "Putin's rating is 30% higher than his cabinet's. Lower still are the ratings of the State Duma and the Federation Council. The "good president - bad government" formula took root in public opinion several years ago. After Mr Putin became Prime Minister, this feeling took on a strange meaning: "good prime minister - bad government." The rating of the ruling party, headed by Mr Putin has also been affected by the crisis - its approval decreased by 10%, while its leader's rating is as high as ever...
At the same time, the latest polls show that the population is not panicking, the expert said. "The Government's plan is supported by almost half of the population. This is a good figure, we expected much lower results.