Ukrainians trust in authorities plunging in 2008 – experts
Kyiv, December 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – One of the main outcomes of 2008 is the lost of trust by most Ukrainians in the central government and political elite, the president of Open Politics analytical center, Ihor Zhdanov, has said.
"This is confirmed by the majority of Ukrainian pollsters, according to which 85% of Ukrainians believe the country is moving in the wrong direction," he told a news conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine in Kyiv on December 25.
Zhdanov added that the level of people’s trust in any Ukrainian politician had been plunging, but “the undoubted leader here is President Viktor Yuschenko”. The expert said that the president’s trust rating does not exceed 3-4%. “He has no chance of winning the next president election, if it is to be fair, clear and democratic,” the expert said.
A similar opinion was expressed by spindoctor Oleh Medvedev who said that “as a bureaucratic figure, he [the president] will certainly remain the president, but as a public and political figure, which might have minimal moral and political influence on society, he is done".
Theses opinions were shared by the director of the Kyiv Center for Political and Conflict Studies, Mykhaylo Pohrebynsky. However, he said that the rating of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych are at the same level.