site.btaTrend's September Survey Finds Little Change in Public Attitudes since July

The Research Center Trend found in September that the public's attitudes towards parties and institutions are similar to those in July. The survey was commissioned by the 24 Chasa daily and was conducted between September 2 and 8 as a semi-standardized face-to-face interview of 1,002 people aged 18 or over.

The share of people who say that early parliamentary elections are necessary has increased and the gap between the two major political forces is nearly 7%.

In September, 31% of respondents are in favour of early parliamentary elections, up by 6 percentage points from July. Still, 47% of Bulgarians say there is no need of new elections.

Trend did not register a significant change in the assessment of the main institutions and in electoral attitudes. As usual, the positive assessment of the National Assembly is low at 14% and remains unchanged from the July survey.

The Nikolay Denkov cabinet garners an approval rating of 22%. This is the third survey in a row that its disapproval rating has increased, reaching 68% in September. Approval is strongest among supporters of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), as three in four express favourable opinions. GERB sympathizers are divided into two roughly equal groups. The large majority of supporters of the other parties are negative about the cabinet's performance.

Assessments of the President's performance have changed little. Despite an increase in the confrontational rhetoric between the government and the President, 36% of respondents approve his performance and 52% disapprove.

Again, GERB commands the strongest support of 24.9%, followed by CC-DB with 18.3%. Vazrazhdane is third as before with 16.1%, followed by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) with 13.4% and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) with 8.7%. As before, There Is Such a People (TISP) hovers around the 4% electoral threshold with 4.2% support.