site.btaPoll: GERB with 26% Voter Support, BSP with 15%

Sofia, July 25 (BTA) - The opposition GERB party would get 26 per cent of votes in the early general elections this autumn, leaving the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) behind with 15 per cent and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) with 7 per cent, according to a nationally representative poll by Exacta. The poll was taken among 1,000 respondents between July 10 and 15.

It gives the Right-wing Reformist Bloc 6 per cent, Bulgaria without Censorship (BwC) 5 per cent, ABV of former President Georgi Purvanov 3 per cent and the nationalist Ataka and the National Front for Salvation of Bulgaria with 2 per cent each.

The poll does not reflect the impact of the walkout from BwC of one of the coalition partners and the accusations against the party leadership by one of the deputy leaders as he abandoned the project of journalist-turn-politician Nikolai Barekov.

Exacta asked respondents about their expectations about the composition of the government after the October 5 elections. 19 per cent expect an all-GERB government; 15 per cent expect a coalition of GERB and the Reformist Bloc; 8 per cent a coalition of GERB and MRF; 7 per cent a coalition of GERB, the Reformists
and ABV; and 6 per cent GERB and BSP.

Mid-July saw an all-time low of public approval for the work of the legislature and the executive in the history of democratic Bulgaria, said Lidia Yordanova of Exacta. In the past year, Parliament lost 17 per cent of the approval and gained 18 per cent of disapproval. Only 8.5 per cent of Bulgarians currently approve it.

The government has lost 15 per cent of approval in the past year and gained as much disapproval. Its going approval rating stands at 17 per cent.

The prosecution magistracy has lost 10 per cent of public approval to 14.5 per cent. Approval for the court stands at 13.6 per cent. 34 per cent of Bulgarians approve of the work of the central bank but its governor, Ivan Iskrov, has a lower approval (28 per cent).

On the backdrop of the negative attitudes to most state institutions and their leaders, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova stands out as a many people's favourite with a public approval of 52 per cent. Second comes EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva with 51 per cent. The two ladies are the only politicians whose approval rating is higher than the disapproval.

President Rosen Plevneliev is the third most liked politician (39 per cent approval), followed by GERB leader Boyko Borissov (36 per cent), Georgi Purvanov (32 per cent, GERB ranking representatives Liliana Pavlova (30 per cent) and Tomislav Donchev (29 per cent), Tsetska Tsacheva (23 per cent) and BSP leadership candidate Yanaki Stoilov (21 per cent).

Among the politicians, the most dramatic decline of approval is seen for outgoing Socialist leader Sergei Stanishev who has lost 7 per cent since april and now has 17 per cent of approval. He has lost the support of about a third of the core voters of BSP.

Exacta commented that the name of Stanishev's successor at the helm of the party will be vital for preserving the core  electorate of BSP.

In mid-July, 69 per cent of Bulgarians approve of Bulgaria's membership of the EU. The share of approvers is 6 per cent smaller than early in 2014.

The upcoming nomination of a Bulgarian representative in the new European Commission appears to be on Bulgarians' agenda. Two-thirds of Bulgarians have personal proposals (when asked an open question where they are free to answer anything). The most frequently mentioned name is of EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva (23 per cent). Other common proposals are Sergei Stanishev (8 per cent), Tomislav Donchev (6 per cent), Meglena Kuneva and Nikolai Barekov (with 4 per cent each).