He pointed out what people really think of the head of the country: who separates Nausėda and the perfect president.

A constituency

From August 5 to 6 of last year, the survey was conducted in two places: in a town with a population of around 5,000 inhabitants. population and a church in a town of about 300 people.

Both areas fall into a constituency. Following the trends in the results of the Seimas elections in 2020, the Union of the Fatherland – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) and the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) received significantly fewer votes here than in Lithuania as a whole. And the Union of Greens and Peasants of Lithuania (LVŽS) and the Liberal Movement were much more popular in that district than in Lithuania in general. During the expedition, 20 qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted.

VU TSPMI political scientist Ain V Ramonaitė presented her session “Political attitudes and pre-electoral moods of the Lithuanian population: results of the SMD field study” at the National Conference “Lithuania after the Seimas elections in 2020”.

He said interviews with people reveal a broader picture than quantitative surveys.

“This expedition, as we call it, is part of a national electoral study. We already have a beautiful tradition that before each election we try to drive through Lithuania, talk to people, feel the pre-election atmosphere up close. One is to collect surveys and quite another to talk to people. This gives a much deeper understanding, ”said A. Ramonaitė at the conference.

He said the coronavirus seemed to disrupt that tradition. However, this did not happen, people were not afraid to talk to researchers in the summer.

“It just came to our attention then. Get out of that bubble, see what problems people are concerned about, how COVID-19 affects electoral moods,” said the political scientist.

“What separates Nausėda from the perfect president?”

3. VU TSPMI student Austėja Šataitė presented the report “Near, far, unreachable. What separates G. Nausėda from the perfect president? ”. This part of the study was prepared together with student Nikita Shchupakov.

The rapporteur stressed the importance of understanding the reasons why Mr Nausėda was being evaluated positively and negatively.

“One year after the start of the mandate of G. Naus mandatoda, it is important to see how people perceive his management. And although in July of last year the majority of the population positively valued the work of the president, it is important to deepen and know what his positive or negative feedback, ”said a VU TSPMI student at the conference.

“Qualitative research revealed that the opinion of most informants about the perfect president can be divided into 4 categories: order, decision-making, diligence and representation,” said A. Šataitė.

According to her, as one of the qualities of a perfect president, people distinguish order.

“They express the need for order, they say that the president must be a leader,” he said.

A field study by VU TSPMI showed that Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas was a true leader.

“It was A. Brazauskas who was the leader. The time was, of course, transitional, difficult for them, but they had leaders. That’s right,” said a 58-year-old official who was interviewed during the investigation.

One respondent noted that Lithuania needed a “German good”.

“(…) or a good German to order,” said the 72-year-old retiree.

Another respondent said that the commander should be calm.

“Jooo, the commander has to be calm, not just himself on the stomach, he has to be tough. He said: be holy. But the saying must be thoughtful, the answer must be correct, scientifically based, not just cold for you: white. And now everything is fine, coldly – he said in white, ”said the 84-year-old retiree.

Other people interviewed revealed that they await decisions from the president. Respondents said that the president should be independent, want a strong position, should not be afraid to make decisions and express opinions.

“It is important to emphasize that such hopes were expressed more by young people who follow the news on the Internet or watch the news of” Laisvės televizija “, – A. Šataitė spoke at the conference.

A teacher said that the president must be sane.

“But somehow you want something, it’s common sense that one day it will be like that. Somehow, putting such a clue on the right track, I don’t know, would shake it up. Well, they would say, well, maybe really, the nonsense is complete, ”said the 41-year-old teacher.

Another woman interviewed stressed that the president “would not be a doll.”

“And well, independent, that would not be like a doll, whoa, that somehow needs to be covered in something, you have to do that, press those, you do that … Well, you want something like that,” said the teacher 41 years old.

Also as a characteristic of a perfect president, respondents expressed concern.

“The age difference can be seen here: older informants described caregiving as altruism, identifying the president with a caregiver or Jesus Christ,” a VU TSPMI student presented the data.

“Whoever doesn’t have that greed, whoever he is … as I call him, needs another Jesus Christ,” said the 72-year-old retiree.

“Well, I think there must be there, good for Lithuanians, it must be a caretaker,” said a state official.

And the young woman expressed the expectation that the president will raise pensions, thus describing the diligence.

“Fine fine. Bishkis would raise pensions, all of that. Well … Well, that’s more money,” said the 24-year-old insurance consultant.

And what should be the representation of a perfect president? People pointed out that the head of the country must be modern and active, in addition to having life experience.

“After that, it’s active, modern, so verbal, not silent,” said the 48-year-old teacher.

“Well, well, I don’t know, well, who has passed away, having seen all this misery, I think he’s going to be older,” said the 72-year-old retiree.

Why doesn’t G. Nausėda like it?

After discussing the qualities of a perfect president, it is important to see how they relate to the assessment of the current head of the country, G. Nausėda.

The study showed that the president’s assessment should be divided into 3 categories: positive, neutral, and negative.

The negative evaluation is further divided into 4 parts: unimportant decisions, bad image, unreliability and frustration.

According to the researchers, the people interviewed criticized the current head of the country because “he is not a leader.”

“Gitan still needs a leader. Because, well, it should be so that everything is clear to the people,” said the 58-year-old official.

It is also stated that G. Nausėda should seek less compromise, be stricter.

“Nausėda may be looking for too many of those compromises,” said the 33-year-old IT specialist.

“It just came to our attention then.” It has to be tougher, “said the 43-year-old.

People who spoke during the expedition also mentioned that the head of the country, G. Nausėda, lacks specificity.

“Oh … I don’t know. It’s like, I don’t know how to tell you, it’s like a kind of shell like the one it has, I think so. So as not to stick out, gently, tub tub tub to smooth something, just like that. ”Said the 83-year-old retiree.

Others said they were disappointed by the first year of G. Nausėda’s rule and expected more understanding from him.

“Well, what do I know, President? At first, somehow it gave me more hope, I thought it would be better,” said the 56-year-old servant.

“I remember him talking about how the situation will definitely improve, and in monetary terms for everyone, but I still don’t see it. Well … maybe more, “said the 24-year-old consultant.

However, the positions of the respondents were different. Informants praised G. Nausėda for her appearance.

“Beautiful man. As in Lithuania, he’s quite good. That’s right, he’s tall, he speaks the language, he knows how to speak, a handsome man is good for that,” the 64-year-old explained.

The 83-year-old retiree claimed that G. Nausėda is a “cultured person.”

“Therefore, it can be said that in terms of image, G. Nausėda is close to being a perfect president for informants,” A. Šataitė presented the research data.

The study findings show that people view the perfect president as “strict but caring, like Jesus Christ.”

Those who negatively value the head of the country notice his bad image and lack of order.

Those who lack vagueness on the part of the head of the country expect order, independence and a strong position.

“In demanding attention, informants of different age groups expect different things. Here it can be assumed that young people still do not have political education, they do not know that it is not in the power of the president to increase pensions, ”said A. Šataitė, a student at VU TSPMI.