More disapprove of Zelensky than approve for first time, poll says

30 June 2020

More Ukrainians disapprove of the performance of President Zelensky than approve for the first time, according to the latest poll, released on June 29, that was conducted by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. About 38% approve, compared to 45% who don’t approve. Zelensky’s approval rating in December was at 62%, compared to 25% who didn’t approve. The poll was conducted of 2,000 respondents between June 20 and 23.

 

Public approval of the cabinet, on the other hand, is far lower at 23%, while disapproval is at 59%. In December, under then-PM Oleksiy Honcharuk, the cabinet’s approval rating was at 35%, compared to 46% disapproval.

 

In late April, the public still has a slightly more positive view of Zelensky than negative, according to a second poll released on June 26. About 37% of those polled offered a positive assessment of Zelensky’s first year in office, compared to 28% who had a negative view. Another 34% chose the option of “not good, not bad” to characterize his performance. The poll was conducted of 2,056 respondents between Apr. 24 and 29.

 

About 50% believe Zelensky’s actions are primarily oriented towards national interests, while 33% believe they’re oriented primarily towards himself and his entourage. About 38% believe the current government is better than the prior, while 39% see no difference and 16% believe it’s worse.

 

Zenon Zawada: The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic recession have taken their toll on the public, as reflected in these poll figures. The drop in Zelensky’s public approval was inevitable, but it remains impressive that as many as 38% still approve of his performance after all that has happened. This is despite ongoing injuries and casualties in the armed conflict in Donbas, which he vowed he would try to end. But road repairs, another key issue of Zelensky’s campaign, have been occurring this summer. Responsibility for this largely lies with the cabinet and local officials (who want to win re-election in the October local elections), but Zelensky’s ratings will benefit from this since he made that one of his key campaign issues.

 

This latest poll also confirms that voters will sooner blame the cabinet for its problems – led by the soft-spoken, technocratic Denys Shmyhal – rather than their beloved charismatic president. Nonetheless, we expect Zelensky’s approval ratings to erode further since his administration is based on one-off solutions to political problems, rather than pursuing any consistent policies, let alone a long-term strategy for the country’s development. Moreover, economic conditions won’t improve for at least another two years.