Popularity of ruling party on decline – poll

The ruling party’s approval rating has fallen for the fifth month in a row, Vilmorus director Vladas Gaidys told BNS. Some 17 percent of respondents said in May they would vote for the LFGU, down from 21,1 a month ago.

The opposition Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats remained in second place with 13 percent support.

The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), the junior partner in the ruling coalition, came in third with 9 percent support, followed by the opposition Liberal Movement in fourth place with 4,5 percent.

The LFGU leaders are losing popularity among voters, too. Ramūnas Karbauskis, the party’s chairman, saw its approval rating fall from 39 percent to 32 percent and his disapproval rating rise from 34 percent to 41 percent. Approval for Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis dropped from 70 percent to 63 percent.

The results confirm the trends revealed in a recent poll carried out by the pollster RAIT for BNS. The poll, which was published a week ago, also showed a decline in the approval ratings of Karbauskis and Skvernelis.

Observers say that the politicians’ positions on the new Labor Code, alcohol restrictions and a reduced VAT rate on district heating could have had an impact on their ratings.

Vilmorus conducted a poll on May 5-13.