site.btaOne in Five Bulgarians Believe New Parties Are Needed - Survey

One in Five Bulgarians Believe New Parties AreNeeded - Survey

Sofia, March 1 (BTA) - In a February 16-24 nationally representative survey conducted among 1,000 respondents, Exacta Research Group found that 22 per cent of Bulgarians believe that new parties are needed. This view is more prevalent among men, young voters, people in their 40s, Sofia residents and well-off people.

Fifty-one per cent of the respondents who are in favour of new parties say they would vote for such parties. For now, the public attitude is non-committal rather than reflecting specific intentions to vote for new parties, the sociologists commented.

GERB's electoral support remained unchanged in a year at 24.5 per cent. Likewise, the Bulgarian Socialist Party's support base is unchanged at 12 per cent. Other parties which would cross the 4 per cent barrier for distribution of seats are the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) (6 per cent), the Reformist Bloc (5.5 per cent) and the Patriotic Front (4.5 per cent). Ataka (2.9 per cent) and ABV (2.5 per cent) still stand a chance of winning seats in the future.

The sociologists say it would be premature to draw conclusions about the public attitudes towards the MRF following Lyutvi Mestan's ouster from its leadership. On the one hand, MRF Honorary Chairman Ahmed Dogan doubled his approval rating in a year. On the other hand, Mestan recently founded his new party.

The survey also asked questions about the attitude to the EU and NATO. The proportion of respondents who approve Bulgaria's EU membership remains unchanged at 70 per cent in the last two years. One in five are critical of the EU, with negative attitudes most often expressed by left-wing voters and supporters of nationalist parties.

In a year, approval of Bulgaria's NATO membership increased by 11 percentage points, from 42 per cent to 53 per cent, while disapproval decreased by 6 percentage points. Exacta commented that the global challenges facing the world and Bulgaria's proximity to hotbeds of instability reinforce the assumption that national security is guaranteed within the Alliance.

The survey found that 43 per cent of respondents are optimistic about the country's future and 45 per cent are optimistic about their own future. Forty-six per cent of respondents voiced pessimism about Bulgaria's future, and 38 were pessimistic about their own future.

The sympathizers of the parties participating in the government are more optimistic about the country's future than the rest. Optimism about the country's future is most widespread among GERB supporters (76 per cent).