President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approval ratings and confidence index reached new lows this month, a poll by the Chinese-language Global Views (遠見) magazine showed yesterday.
The poll, conducted by the Global Views Survey Research Center, put Ma’s popularity at 23.2 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from last month, while his trust index dropped 1.6 percentage points from last month to 36.4 percent.
Ma’s popularity this month touched a new low since the center began the survey on his approval rating in June 2008. It reached its highest point last June when it hit 40.7 percent.
His trust index this month was 36.4 percent, a 1.6 percent decrease.
The pollster said Ma’s popularity and trust index were almost on par with last August when Typhoon Morakot devastated the south, killing hundreds.
Even worse, it said, they showed a worsening trend, creating a crisis of confidence in Ma.
The pollster attributed the phenomenon to the negative impact of locally produced swine flu vaccines and fallout from the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) resounding defeat in the legislative by-elections earlier this month.
Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, faces another election challenge next month when voters are scheduled to decide the party’s fate in four more legislative by-elections, while elections for the heads of five special municipalities are scheduled for the end of the year.
KMT lawmakers’ popularity also sank to a new low this month, with only 18 percent of respondents saying they were satisfied with their performance and 63.9 percent saying they were not.
The KMT’s popularity fell 2.3 percent from last month, while disapproval grew 4.1 percent.
The pollster said KMT legislators have long been unpopular, adding that it was a “clear warning” when the party lost all three seats in the legislative by-elections this month.
It said next month’s legislative by-elections would serve as another test for the KMT, which controls the executive and legislative branches.
The poll also questioned pan-blue supporters on the performance of Ma and the KMT. While 71.9 percent said Ma’s performance was worse than expected, 13 percent said it was better. Of the KMT’s performance, 62.4 percent said it was worse than expected, while 24.2 percent said it was better.
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