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Poll: Forty percent of Belarusians trust government

 

The share of Belarusians trusting the government increased from 35.6 percent this past March to 40 percent in June, according to the most recent survey conducted by the Vilnius-based Independent Institute for Social, Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS).

The share of those who do not trust the government fell from 48.3 to 46.6 percent, the poll found.

More than 50 percent of the respondents agreed with Alyaksandr Lukashenka's recent statement that the Belarusian economy "needs modernization rather than a drastic change of its system." Nearly 38 percent disagreed.

Only of a fourth of the respondents agreed with Mr. Lukashenka's prediction that this year's inflation rate would not surpass 12 percent. More than 50 percent disagreed with the Belarusian leader's claim that the country's economy was developing steadily and the economic crisis was over.

Thirty percent said that Mr. Lukashenka may achieve success in fighting corruption, while 28 percent suggested that it was impossible to stamp out the crime in Belarus. Nineteen percent said that Mr. Lukashenka depended on corrupt government officials, while 18 percent accused him of taking advantage of corruption. //BelaPAN