site.btaAlfa Research Poll: Significant Shifts in Voter Attitudes, There Is Such a People Loses Leading Position

Sofia, September 17 (BTA) - There have been serious shifts in voter attitudes, according to a nationally representative poll by Alfa Research. It was held September 8-15, 2021, among 1,017 adult respondents. The poll results are the voters' punishment for the way the parties behaved in the short-lived 46th National Assembly and their failure to form a government, the pollsters say.

That Parliament was dissolved on September 16 after lasting less than two months.

The biggest damage is sustained by the winner in the July 11 snap elections, There Is Such a People (TISP). With 16.9 per cent of the votes of determined voters, TISP lose more than 7 percentage points from its July 11 result. Consequently, it loses the leading position to the formerly ruling GERB which manage to keep their core electorate (21.1 per cent).

As far as GERB are concerned, the lack of prospects and the absence of the unifying figure of a presidential candidate (presidential elections are due November 14 together with new snap general elections), is pushing down GERB's result as well, the pollsters say.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) have improved their result to 16.5 per cent, nearly catching up with TISP.

Following on their heels is Democratic Bulgaria, who reconfirm their position from July 11 with 13.2 per cent.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms are keeping their traditional standing among the parties and get 9.6 per cent approval.

Due to the surge in approval for BSP and also due to the scandals they were embroiled in, Rise Up BG! are slipping to the brink of staying out of the next Parliament with 4.1 per cent.

The threashold for entry in the legislature is 4 per cent.

Of all nationalist parties, those who are closest to winning MP seats are Vuzrazhdane [Revival] with 3.5 per cent.

Despite the prevailing optimism about the formation of a government by the next Parliament (38 per cent optimistic and and 28 per cent pessimistic), this optimism is a far cry from the situation in July when close to 60 per cent of respondents expected a government to be formed.

The analysts say that the materialization of the idea for a political project of the two most popular ministers in the first caretaker government of Prime Minister Stefan Yanev, of Economy Kiril Petkov and of Finance Assen Vassilev, is a central theme in the upcoming election campaign.

The two were only dropping hints about their political plans and openly talked about them for the first time on September 16 as their government handed over to the next caretaker government (of the same Prime Minister and mostly unchanged lineup).

The first Alfa Research poll covering Petkov and Vassilev shows that they have a potential to win 8-9 per cent of the votes of those determined to vote. Whatever the makeup of their project, there are in it shocks for the existing political entities. The worst shock will be for Rise Up BG! who are very likely to remain outside Parliament. The second is for TISP who are likely to go down to the third or even fourth position. And last, the former ministerial duo has the potential of undermining the periphery of the Establishment parties, say the analysts.

The Alfa Research pollsters expect over half of adult Bulgarians to exercise their voting right on November 14. LN///