site.btaGallup International Poll on Topical Concerns

Gallup International Poll on Topical Concerns

Sofia, March 2 (BTA) - Gallup International found that one in four Bulgarians aged 18 or over, about 1.4 million people, witnessed aggression between children or teenagers in the last 12 months. The polling agency conducted an independent flash telephone survey among 805 people across the country on February 27-28.

The survey looked into attitudes towards topical concerns of the last few weeks and months in the context of real issues as opposed to media hype.

The real issues identified by respondents include road surfaces, tunnels and bridges, which may cause serious road accidents (88.3 per cent say this is a real problem, 9.8 per cent say the topic is surrounded by media hype, and the rest don't know) and the national programme improving the energy efficiency of residential buildings (52.6 per cent view it as a real problem, while 38.6 per cent say it is media hype). In contrast, President Rumen Radev's flight to Brussels by a military aircraft is seen as a real problem by 27.1 per cent of respondents, while 63.6 per cent say it is all media hype.

The poll found that 61.1 per cent of respondents (nearly 3.3 million people) came across fake news in the last 12 months.

Asked about the National Programme for Energy Efficiency for Multi-family Residential Buildings, 90.2 per cent of respondents said they had heard of it. Of them, 51.8 per cent believe this is how pre-fab blocks of flats should be renovated, while 39.9 per cent opt for the answer that "retrofitting is major theft". The sociologists concluded that divided opinion was a sign of marked public concern.

The retrofitting of residential buildings is considered a good project in principle, but the public is irked by the fact that only a small proportion of households can benefit from it: 49.5 per cent of those who know about it say it is unfair, while 30.8 per cent hold the opposite view. Suspicions of corruption, which are widespread in Bulgaria, also influence the public's opinion about retrofitting, according to the sociologists.

The survey found that Bulgarians like all the important political actions of the last few days. For instance, 53 per cent approve Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova's criticism of a statement by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in favour of a EU at different speeds, which could put countries like Bulgaria at a disadvantage.

More radical political actions tend to be approved, especially those touted as defending Bulgaria's security and independence. For instance, 65.2 per cent of respondents approve former prime minister Boyko Borissov's statement that he does not want to see Bulgaria involved in stronger NATO presence in the Black Sea; 58.4 per cent approve of the caretaker cabinet's plans to bid for Bulgaria's entry into the euro area's waiting room; and 52.6 per cent like the plans of VMRO leader Krassimir Karakachanov to stop busloads of Bulgarian ethnic Turks from crossing the border into Bulgaria from Turkey to vote in the March 26 parliamentary elections.