Only Ukraine president, Lviv mayor are trusted among politicians, poll says

Only two Ukrainian politicians have a positive rating of trust among the Ukrainian public, reported on Dec. 29 the Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Fund, a leading polling organization. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi has the highest ranking (+17% positive trust balance), followed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (+7%). The public regards the civic activists and combat veterans who went into politics “very positively,” said Fund Director Iryna Bekeshkina, as reported by the Ukrayinska Pravda news site.

Most other political leaders have a negative public trust balance, including Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (-4%), National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov (-36%), Interior Minister Arsen Avakov (-42%) and National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Head Valeriia Gontareva (-46%).

Also having low trust levels are the leaders of parliament and most of its factions: speaker Volodymyr Groysman (-8%), Opposition Bloc Head Yuriy Boyko (-49%), ex-PM and Fatherland leader Yulia Tymoshenko (-58%), Poroshenko Bloc Head Yuriy Lutsenko (-39%), and Radical Party Head Oleh Liashko (-43%).

Zenon Zawada: The poll confirms that the Ukrainian political system has failed to renew itself after the EuroMaidan protest and is headed for further deterioration. Most of those given negative ratings absolutely deserve them.