Zelensky’s public support at 71 percent, poll shows

A whopping 71 percent of Ukrainians are happy about President Volodymyr Zelensky’s policies, as shown by survey results published by the Rating Group pollster on Sept. 21.

“As compared with July 2019, the level of contentment regarding the head of the state’s work had increased one and a half times,” the agency noted.

At the same time, 11 percent do not support Zelensky, while 18 percent of respondents were neutral or undecided.

The approval rating of the recently-elected parliament appears to be considerably lower: 39 percent of responders said they are happy about the Verkhovna Rada, while 16 percent said they were not.

A huge share of the responders — 45 percent — hesitated to make an appraisal of the new parliament.

Notably, some of the initiatives offered have gained vocal public support, the poll also shows. In particular, over 90 percent of responders endorsed revoking lawmaker mandates for voting fraud and unexcused absences, as well as reducing the number of lawmakers in the Rada from 450 to 300, and the abolishment of parliamentary immunity.

Two-thirds of the responders also hesitated to express their opinion regarding the new Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, while 29 percent gave positive feedback and 11 percent said they are not happy about the new government’s head.

70 percent of Ukrainians support entitling regular citizens to initiate bills, and also giving the president additional powers regarding appointing the heads of National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), as well as appointing more ombudspersons.

“Nearly two-thirds support enshrining in Constitution the principle of holding parliamentary elections under the proportional system and the advocatory monopoly,” the survey says.

In general, 55 percent of responders said Ukraine was headed in the right direction, while 18 percent did not agree and 26 percent went undecided.

“The country’s direction receives the best appreciation in the west and the north, and relatively less positive in the center and the east,” the pollster reported.

“The youth and voters of (the presidential party) Servant of the People. On the other side, the most pessimistic views are observed among the elderly and supporters of the European Solidarity (led by former President Petrov Poroshenko) and the Opposition Platform — For Life (associated with Viktor Medvenchuk, a relative of President Vladimir Putin of Russia).