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The Cabinet of Ministers headed by Ingrida Šimonytė, which raised expectations in early February that it would immediately begin easing quarantine restrictions for small businesses, decided to postpone decisions long-awaited by many. It became something of a spark, drawing unprecedented criticism of the right-wing government. However, according to recent population surveys, neither those responsible for managing the COVID-19 crisis nor the ruling majority received a higher overall rating in the ratings.
The results of the survey conducted by Baltic Research from February 9 to 12 show that 60 percent. Lithuanian Prime Minister I. Šimonytė appreciates the work done during the quarantine. Almost double (32%) say the opposite. According to them, there is no reason to treat the Prime Minister’s activities during the quarantine in a positive way. Another 8 percent of those surveyed did not have a clear opinion on the subject.
Meanwhile, another key government figure in managing the COVID-19 crisis, Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys, is valued positively during the pandemic. population of the country. A third (33%) of those surveyed said they currently view the minister’s work in handling the pandemic negatively. Another 13 percent. those who responded to the survey did not have a clear position on how the minister’s work should be evaluated.
The analysis carried out by Baltijos tyrimai also shows that the work of Šimonytė and A. Dulkis is appreciated more favorably by those under 30 years of age, who earn the highest income, and the inhabitants of large cities.
Compared which ruling majority handled the COVID-19 crisis better
Recently, almost the largest wave of discontent with the government has arisen over issues related to the release of the quarantine regime. Not only that, the decision to postpone quarantine relief for a short time sparked notable friction in the public space between the ruling coalition partners.
However, polls show that all of this did not have a significant impact on the overall evaluation of the right-wing government’s work.
41 percent. Respondents believe that the majority of the Seimas formed from right-wing political forces cope with managing the pandemic better than the “peasant” dominated government did at the time.
41 percent. Respondents believe that the majority of the Seimas formed from right-wing political forces cope with managing the pandemic better than the “peasant” dominated government did at the time. Meanwhile, 27 percent. argues otherwise. According to them, the current right-wing majority is inferior to the coalition led by Saulius Skvernelis, Aurelijus Veryga and Ramūnas Karbauskis in terms of the quality of their work during the pandemic.
Another 22 percent. When asked to compare current and outgoing government work during the survey, they saw no significant differences. In his opinion, both the current and previous majority of the Seimas approached the problems of the pandemic in the same way.
Government work is not only welcomed by the ruling electorate
Rasa Ališauskienė, head of Baltic Research, points out that the proportion of respondents who say the right-wing copes better with the COVID-19 crisis than the “peasants” is larger than the electorate of the ruling majority parties. According to the sociologist, this is probably influenced by the narrative that was formed in the public space that the current coalition took the helm of power precisely at a time when the epidemiological situation in the country deteriorated significantly due to the passivity of the previous government. .
“There are such opinions in the public sphere that the previous majority was slow to introduce stricter measures due to the Seimas elections. With the start of the second wave of coronavirus, the ‘peasants’ were widely criticized for their indecision. But after all , they have always been criticized for being committed to prohibitions ”, emphasized R. Ališauskienė, a kind of paradox.
Commenting on the survey data, the sociologist felt that respondents, who were asked to compare the work of conservatives and “peasant-dominated” coalitions, probably presented their assessments without giving much thought to the specific decisions made by S Skvernelis and I. governments. Thus, following the logic of R. Ališauskienė, this survey probably does not reflect the specific decisions of the government, which provoked discussions or even open dissatisfaction with the decisions of both governments.
“If we ask for concrete measures, I think that in that case the discontent with this majority would disappear,” he said.
Fear in society influenced the government’s assessment
Lithuanian society values the work of Prime Minister I. Šimonytė and Minister A. Dulkis during the pandemic in a similar way to the work of Saulius Skvernelis and Aurelijus Veryga during the first wave of COVID-19.
For example, in 2020. At the beginning of April, during the survey conducted by “Baltic Research”, 60 percent. respondents evaluated the work of S. Skvernelis favorably and 31 percent. unfavorably. The work of the then Minister of Health A. Veryga was praised by 57%. and 37 percent. respondents viewed their activities negatively.
However, underlines the sociologist R. Ališauskienė, despite the existing statistical similarities, it is worth noting that the possibilities of the current government and of the outgoing majority of the Seimas to receive a favorable assessment of the decisions taken by citizens are quite different.
“I think the evaluation situation is a little different now than it was in the spring. In the spring, there were basically only two speakers in the public space: Skvernelis and Veryga. The opposition and the Seimas were practically not heard at all. In addition, the president himself was more silent. So practically all the public space was occupied by only two people. Also, there was an emotional shock in society at that time. The people were ready to listen to any general, “said R. Ališauskienė.
An assessment of a situation based on fear does not require many arguments.
According to her, the emotional atmosphere of the time had a great influence on the way the public evaluated the decisions made by the government during the first wave of COVID-19, and it was fear that dominated it.
“It just came to our attention then. You just see that someone is responsible for handling the situation,” commented R. Ališauskienė.
According to her, shock, fear and uncertainty of the situation became the reasons why political preferences or ideological points of view were put aside in the public appreciation of the work of A. Veryga and S. Skvernelis .
“In other words, it was not necessarily the ‘peasant’ voters who praised Skvernel and Veryga.” At that time, the main factor was fear and politics worked less ”, emphasized the sociologist.
The work of I. Šimonytė and S. Skvernelis was evaluated in a similar way, but the indicators are difficult to compare
According to R. Ališauskienė, today society lives in a more complex political context, therefore, he emphasizes, and it is much more difficult to expect the support of the population for decisions made by the government.
In this sense, 60 percent. favorable ratings are probably over 60%. in the spring (during the work of the Government of S. Skvernelis – ELTA). Furthermore, it is now possible to compare crisis management with what it used to be. Therefore, the situation is less favorable for the current rulers because they receive more criticism, and now the restrictions are much stricter, ”said R. Ališauskienė.
On the other hand, the sociologist pointed out that, compared to spring, the interaction of polar forces is much more dynamic at this time.
“The political division has returned to its course, there is opposition and position again, and the Seimas is much more active. Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen speaks often, Karbauskis and the president are much more active in the opposition. So the general context no longer exists. he is alone covidinis“It’s already political,” said the director of Baltic Research.
However, R. Ališauskienė agreed that among the respondents who indicated that they negatively evaluate the work of the current Head of Government or the Minister of Health, there are many who are generally skeptical about the measures taken to combat COVID-19.
“So, no matter who makes those decisions, respondents will continue to misjudge the situation. They are generally determined or skeptical about the entire pandemic and all the measures, no matter who presents them. In this sense, there is no a lot of contradiction between them and Skvernelis from Šimonytė, ”he said.
A. Dulkys is incomparably less visible than A. Veryga was
R. Ališauskienė said it is not surprising that the evaluation of I. Šimonytė’s work is slightly better than A. Dulkis’s. According to her, this determines not only that I. Šimonytė, as a politician, is much better known, but also the communication model chosen by the current government.
And the principle of government communication, says the head of “Baltic Research”, the current government is different from the government led by S. Skvernelis.
“Although the activities of Šimonytė and Skvernelis (as prime ministers) in public space are more or less similar, we could not say the same of A. Dulkis and A. Veryga. Let’s remember Veryga’s daily press conferences … It was a joke that you open the fridge – and there Veryga … There are much less Dulkis in the public space occupying the same position, they communicate shorter. So naturally your visibility is lower. In general, in public space at the time, Veryga seemed to be the main general. As for the Dust, this is not the case. In general, much of this government has been turned over to experts in pandemic management issues, “he said.
ELTA recalls that in a similar survey conducted at the end of April 2020, according to favorable evaluations, A. Veryga equated S. Skvernelis. At that time, A. Veryga’s work during the crisis was appreciated by 63%. respondents, 32 percent. declared the work negatively. Meanwhile, the prime minister’s work was rated positively at 62 percent. and negatively – 32 percent.
Market survey and public opinion Baltijos tyrimai in 2021. February 9-12 conducted a representative survey of Lithuanian residents aged 18-74 years. A total of 530 residents were surveyed. The survey was conducted using the CAWI method. The survey data was weighted to reflect the views of the Lithuanian population aged 18-74. The error of the results does not exceed 4.4 percentage points when the confidence interval is 95%.
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