An opinion poll conducted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) found that more than half of respondents were unhappy with President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) performance.
The telephone survey conducted by the DPP’s Public Opinion Survey Center on Monday and Tuesday found that 53.5 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with Ma and 39.3 percent were satisfied.
Center director Chen Chun-lin (陳俊麟) told a press conference yesterday that Ma’s satisfaction rating has dropped from a high of 71.3 percent in early April when the DPP began conducting regular polls on his performance, while the dissatisfaction rating has gradually risen during that period from a low of 22.5 percent.
Among pan-blue supporters, Ma’s approval rating has slipped from 78 percent early last month to 63.1 percent in the latest poll, while the disapproval rating has risen from 17.9 percent to 32.8 percent, Chen said.
Ma’s disapproval rating has surpassed that of Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) for the first time, Chen said, adding that Liu’s disapproval rating in the latest survey was 52.1 percent.
Chen said Liu had served as a “firewall” for Ma by absorbing most of the public’s resentment and dissatisfaction.
“However, that firewall has disappeared,” he said.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), who also attended the news conference, said that the survey shows that the “public doesn’t care whether President Ma is in the first line or second line. They only want him to solve the problems facing Taiwan.”
“In order to face the challenge of the crisis of confidence in his leadership, Ma must stand in the front line and dedicate all his efforts to restoring the people’s livelihood,” Chen Chi-mai said.
The survey also asked respondents how surging oil, electricity and commodity prices had affected their standard of living.
A total of 46.5 percent of respondents said that their spending on basic necessities had risen by between NT$1,000 and NT$3,000 a month, while 20.8 percent said it has increased by NT$3,000 to NT$5,000. The average increase for all respondents was NT$2,846, showing that inflation is taking its toll on the country’s residents, the DPP officials said.
A total of 908 valid samples were collected in the survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
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