site.btaTrust in Zhelyazkov Cabinet Down to 22% at Start of Its Third Month in Office, Shows Market Links Poll

At the beginning of the third month of the Rosen Zhelyzkov Cabinet in office, the trust in the Government dropped to 22% in March, compared to 27% in January, shows an opinion poll presented by Market Links on Thursday.

The data are from a nationally-representative survey carried out through face-to-face interviews and online panel among 1,004 adult Bulgarians across Bulgaria from March 22 to 30. The poll was funding jointly by Market Links and bTV.

The first government with GERB's exploratory mandate not headed by GERB leader Boyko Borissov started with a statement of the strategic goal - the country's accession to the euro area, but also with a budget whose discussions and public criticism left doubts about spending large amounts of state funds in a non-transparent way and, respectively, provoking a growing corruption risk, Market Links said. The polling agency added that the results of the survey in February reported public doubts in this direction. There is also disapproval of the overfunding of the internal security sector. In this context came Borissov's officially declared dependence of the ruling majority on MRF - New Beginning and, in particular, its leader Delyan Peevski (the politician with the highest disapproval) - news that also has the potential to provoke a withdrawal of some of the government's supporters.

This month, Parliament became the main stage of the debate on the Constitutional Court's decision on the elections' legality but, more importantly, for the first time its composition was changed after a Constitutional Court ruling. Despite this and the scandal over the dissolution of the MECh group, the National Assembly remains with practically the same level of trust as was measured in February, pollsters noted.

The main losers in the current situation are Bulgarian politicians, Market Links said, adding that almost all of them have seen a decline in their credibility. The President is the only one with a positive rating, with a 5% drop in trust, probably due to his more peripheral role in the political events of the last month. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov does not seem to have been affected in a personal capacity by the drop in trust in the Cabinet. He remains with 25% positive ratings, identical to the Government. Among all the political figures surveyed, the most significant change was registered in the attitudes towards National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova, Market Links said.

A direct result from the series of political crises and scandals of the last month is a significant decrease in the declared mobilization to participate in early voting, the pollsters said. The refusal of some of the more peripheral voters to declare their readiness to vote is leading to a strengthening of the role of hard-core voters and increased results for most political parties compared to the previous month, according to Market Links. For a second month, the MRF - New Beginning is a potential third political force, due to a gradual decline in declared support for Vazrazhdane.

The experts note that the decision of the Constitutional Court, which provoked extreme political reactions from the highest position in the Bulgarian institutional framework, objectifies the commonly shared understanding in society that the electoral process in Bulgaria suffers from a number of systemic problems that replace part of the vote.