Public confidence in politics and the economy has strengthened with President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) trust level reaching a new high, according to the latest poll released by the Chinese-language Global Views Monthly magazine yesterday.
The poll, conducted by the Global Views Survey Research Center, put Ma’s confidence index at 50.1 points on a scale of 0 to 100. The figure represented an increase of 4.5 points from last month. It was the highest since August last year, when Ma’s confidence index plunged to 42 in the wake of Typhoon Morakot.
The trust level of Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) also rose by 2.6 points to 46.6 this month.
Center director Lian Tai (戴立安) attributed the growth to the improved performance of the Ma administration in handling the devastation caused by Typhoon Fanapi last month. The public was also more appreciative of the government’s economic reform initiatives more as it felt the economy recover, he added.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) confidence index, on the other hand, dropped below 50 at 49 points. Her party’s trust level also fell 1.2 points to 41.3. Overall, public confidence in the DPP was 45.2 — down 1.7 points.
Confidence in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which is chaired by Ma, increased 4.8 points to 46.
Meanwhile, the public mood index (TPMI) this month edged up 3.7 points but remained below 50 at 45.4.
TPMI consists of two indexes: the political confidence index (PCI) and the economic confidence index (ECI).
The PCI was 48.2 this month, while the ECI was 42.5. The figures represent an increase of 3.9 points and 3.4 points respectively over last month.
On the political front, the poll showed the index for political optimism increased 3.9 points to 49.3. The political stability index for next month was 40.5 — a hike of 6.1 points — and the level of trust in cross-strait detente next month grew 1.6 points to 58.
On the economic front, the current economic situation index was 36.4 points, a rise of 4.1 points from last month. The economic optimism index advanced 2.5 to 48.5 points.
The poll surveyed 1,007 adults across the nation from Oct. 14 to Oct. 17. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
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