Lithuanian president popularity, Farmers just ahead of Conservatives

The number of those favoring Grybauskaitė fell from 66 percent to 60 percent, while the dislike rate was at 15 percent.

Immediately before and during the survey, the large-scale Russian-Belarusian exercise Zapad 2017 was the top topic, and the president’s critics censured her for flying off to New York for a United Nations (UN) event during the exercise.

Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis was favored by 44 percent of those polled and disliked by 25 percent, while respective figures for the Liberal Movement‘s leader, Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius, were 43 percent and 17 percent, Parliamentary Speaker Viktoras Pranckietis 40 percent and 19 percent, conservatives’ leader Gabrielius Landsbergis 34 percent and 28 percent. Other rated public figures included the Order and Justice party’s leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis with 33 percent and 20 percent, the Social Democratic Party’s leader Gintautas Paluckas with 29 percent and 21 percent, Farmers‘ leader Ramūnas Karbauskis with 29 percent and 36 percent and Waldemar Tomaszewski, the leader of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania, with 10 percent and 51 percent.

No major changes were reported on the line-up of political parties. The first two spots were taken by Farmers and the conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, with support of 17 percent and 16 percent, respectively. They are followed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Movement with 11 percent and 9 percent.

Two major developments – the corruption suspicions against the Liberal Movement and the Labor Party, as well as the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party’s decision to pull out of the ruling coalition – came on the last days of the survey, therefore, the results do not reflect their possible impact. The 2018 budget draft was presented after the survey.

For the BNS survey, RAIT interviewed 1,012 Lithuanian residents between ages of 15 and 74 on September 15-26.