Record-high Level of Mistrust in President Mark End of Plevneliev's Term in Office, Tenure of Boyko Borissov II Government - Poll

Sofia, January 26 (BTA) - Record-high levels of mistrust in the President and customary levels of mistrust in Parliament and government marked the end of the term of office of President Rosen Plevneliev who stepped down on January 22, of the 43rd National Assembly and of the tenure of the second government of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, according to the findings of a traditional end-of-term Gallup poll.

Parliament is approved by around and below 20 per cent of adult Bulgarians, and disapproved by more than 70 per cent. The approval for the cabinet stood about and below 30 per cent in the last months of its life, while the disapproval was about and above 60 per cent.

The approval ratings of the outgoing Parliament and cabinet are better than the end-of-term showing of the Plamen Oresharski government (29 May 2013 to 6 August 2014).

In the last months prior to the regular presidential elections in November 2016, the trust on Plevneliev varied to about a quarter, while the mistrust stood at about two-thirds.

The victory in the local elections in the autumn of 2015 provided a psychological bonus to the incumbents. But the failure at the last presidential elections had a reverse effect. The loss had a negative impact on the personal rating of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov who started 2017 with 25 per cent trust and 61 per cent mistrust.

Demographically, the trust in the incumbents is predictably higher in the groups with higher incomes and education. The disapproval in the National Assembly is "universal", which is nothing new in the Bulgarian politics, the Gallup experts note.

In the last year of the life of the 43rd National Assembly, the trust in Parliament chairperson Tsetska Tsacheva was around 20 per cent, and the mistrust, at about 65 per cent.

Plevneliev's term in office was marked by complex political developments which had an apparent negative effect on the approval of the institution of the president.

The first tangible dive in the trust in Plevneliev occurred in 2013, after he supported one of the two sides in the large-scale public discussion prompted by the protests against the Plamen Oresharski government, which cost him the support of the opposite side.

A referendum was held in the autumn of 2015 on electronic voting, initiated by Plevneliev. This is seen as one of the events which temporarily stemmed the mistrust in the President. An additional role for this had the local elections held concurrently with the referendum which were won by Boyko Borissov's GERB party.

In the final months of her term, Vice President Margarita Popova had an approval rating of 20 per cent, and a disapproval rating of 60 per cent.