Public opinion on the caretaker government is at this time positive. This is associated with the traditional authority of the president, which even now is improving. A certain level of calming of the public is observed. Standing at the threshold of the expected spikes of COVID-19 in the country, two out of five people are saying that they are not vaccinated, and they have no intention of doing so. This is the assessment at the current stage of the data obtained from an analysis of the monthly independent survey program of ‘Gallup International Balkan’.
The overall opinion on the performance of the caretaker government is positive. 58.9% of people approve of the caretaker government, and 28.8% of people do not approve of the caretaker government. The rest are unsure. The approval is prevalent in all examined public strata, with the exception of GERB supporters. The retrospective assessment will become more important in the future. Normally the public consciousness needs some more months, allowing the reaching of sufficient level of recognition and awareness.
Practically this assessment is reciprocal to the assessment of the previous cabinet and indicates that the public has calmed down. This is also evident in the responses to the question traditional for ‘Gallup International Balkan’, which is about the overall trend for Bulgaria. This question has received a prevalence of negative responses for more than decades, but in recent months the share of negative responses has been dropping, and they start returning to pre-COVID-19 and pre-state political crisis levels. Now 26.3% of people are saying that the country is on a positive trajectory, while 52%, find that country is on a negative trajectory. Just months ago, however – in last autumn – the shares of the positive responses have dropped to levels around 16%, and the negative responses have increased up to 67%. Later, normalizing the political situation has resulted to a certain level of reassurance, which has continued to be affirmed with the election results, and now that the caretaker government has started its mandate – as a popular form of governance.
In the meantime, personal trust in Rumen Radev is 64.3%, while mistrust is 22.2%. 12.5% are unsure, while just 1% have not heard of Rumen Radev. The main (and almost sole) opponents of Radev are the supporters of GERB. Public confidence in Radev in recent months has been increasing – most probably due to the actions of the caretaker government. This is how Radev retains his position as the figure in the Bulgarian politics with the highest approval rating and the only political figure with a positive rating, i.e., a level of approval exceeding the level of disapproval.
The attitude toward vaccines has also been examined – at a time where a start of increase in the reported COVID-19 cases in Bulgaria has been reported. I am vaccinated with one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, 4.2% of Bulgarians say. I am vaccinated with two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, 16.7% of Bulgarians say, or in total approximately 900 thousand people, out of a total of 5.5 million people of legal age, residing in the country – as the official statistics says. I am not vaccinated, but I will be vaccinated with a coronavirus vaccine, 27%. say I am not vaccinated, and I will not be vaccinated with a coronavirus vaccine, 41.8% say. Approximately one out of ten people cannot answer. The data is, of course, declarative, but – as evidenced – they practically overlap with the official information.
The relatively high level of refusal to vaccinate is resulting from complex factors, not least of which is the high share of people in the country, who have already had the disease. The share of people refusing to vaccinate prior to the previous virus wave was 48%, i.e., a little higher compared to the month of July.
You can find more about the complete work of ‘Gallup International Balkan’ regarding COVID-19 HERE.
The excerpt is representative for the population of Bulgaria of legal age. The survey has been conducted “face to face” with tables in the period between June 30 and July 7, among 1,010 Bulgarians of full legal age. The absolute maximum error is ±3.1% at 50% share. 1% of the excerpt is equal to approximately 55 thousand Bulgarian citizens.