site.btaSlight Rise in Incumbents' Rating Neither Continued Nor Reversed - Gallup Poll

Slight Rise in Incumbents' Rating Neither Continued Nor Reversed - Gallup Poll

Sofia, April 15 (BTA) - The incumbents' public approval rating
has not continued its slight rise of earlier months, nor has it
begun to fall, and the same applies to public expectations about
 the economy, personal finances, prices and unemployment. The
conclusion was drawn in the latest monthly Political and
Economic Index of the Gallup International polling agency. The
independent poll was conducted between March 26 and April 2
among 1,011 adult respondents.

The poll shows that the Government's public approval rating is
30 per cent, and its disapproval rating is 58 per cent. In the
case of Parliament, the ratings are 18 per cent and 71 per cent,
 respectively.

Part of the constituents of the main ruling party, GERB, seem
less confident in their support for the party during the last
two months, the pollsters said, noting that such an ebb is
normal for any ruling party in Bulgaria as its tenure unfolds.

Still, 23 per cent of respondents say that they would vote for
GERB in parliamentary elections. This compares with a score of
15 per cent for the main opposition party, the Bulgarian
Socialist Party. Other parties which would enter Parliament if
elections were held now include the Movement for Rights and
Freedoms (6.4 per cent), the Reformist Bloc (5.1 per cent) and
the Patriotic Front (3.4 per cent), and a reasonable chance is
also available for Ataka (2.5 per cent) and ABV (2 per cent).
Gallup noted that these percentages are based on all eligible
voters, so they do not show the potential election results.

The coming months will show if there is any substantial change
in the public approval rating of the Presidency, the pollsters
said.

There are no major changes in the individual ratings of
politicians. The only exception is perhaps Deputy Prime Minister
 Roumyana Buchvarova, who understandably raised her rating to 23
 per cent after becoming Interior Minister as well, thus
reinforcing her position as one of the best liked government
ministers, Gallup said.

General public moods about the country's development have
remained unchanged over the last month. Some 20 per cent of
Bulgarians find that things in the country are changing for the
better, and 63 per cent believe the change is for the worse.

Nearly 43 per cent expect the general economic situation in the
country to worsen over the next year, 14 per cent expect it to
improve, and one in three expects it to remain unchanged. Half
of interviewees expect that the finances of their households
will remain unchanged, while a quarter of them feel their
household finances will worsen, and one in ten expects them to
improve. Nearly two-thirds of those polled expect prices to
rise, one-fifth to remain unchanged, and 5 per cent to fall.
Some 38 per cent expect unemployment to rise, 33 per cent to
remain unchanged, and 14 per cent to fall.

As the new government took over in November 2014, the political
and economic anxieties of the previous months began to wane,
Gallup said.