Former Liberal leader’s ratings plummet following bribery allegations

A Vilmorus poll shows that Masiulis’ popularity fell 11 points in May month-on-month.

Vladas Gaidys, director of Vilmorus, said that the latest survey was carried out on May 5-13, while the so-called liberal scandal hit on May 12. Of the 1,030 respondents, about 200 were surveyed after the news broke, therefore the results only partially reflect the latest developments in Lithuanian politics.

In mid-May, Lithuanian prosecutors publicized an investigation into suspicions that Masiulis could have accepted a €100,000 bribe from MG Baltic, one of the biggest business groups in the country.

Masiulis resigned from the leadership of his party and asked to be relieved of his duties as an MP, pledging to cooperate with investigators.

About a third, 32.1%, of the people polled said they had a positive opinion about Masiulis, whereas the figure in March was 43.1%.

“Masiulis was one of the most popular figures in Lithuania, but his ratings fell 11 points over two days,” Gaidys tells LRT.

The Social Democratic Party saw a slight increase in ratings to 16.2% in April from 15.7 percent in March, while support for the Peasant and Greens Union is also on the rise, 12.5% in April compared to 11.1% a month ago.

They are followed by two opposition parties, the Liberal Movement and the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (conservatives), both supported by 8.9% of respondents (as compared with 9.6% and 8%, respectively, the month before).

The Labour Party secured support of 8.2% of those polled (8.4% in March), while the ruling Order and Justice party got 5.3% (8.4% in March) and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania 2.8% (2.5% in March).