Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov are the politicians who maintained a positive rating in the last six months, according to a survey conducted by the Centre for Analysis and Marketing among 1,257 people aged 18 or over on April 8-11.

Tsvetanov's approval rating increased from nearly 52 per cent in October 2009 to 56.4 per cent in April, which the Centre's Director Yulii Pavlov attributed to high-profile police operations.

The Prime Minister's approval rating fell from 63.6 per cent in October to 57.6 per cent in April.

In six months President Georgi Purvanov's approval rating slid from 49.7 per cent to 39.8 per cent.

The Purvanov-Djankov conflict in early March over a verbatim record of a meeting intended to iron out differences between the two had a negative impact on both, although Finance Minister Simeon Djankov lost more. His disapproval rating increased from 41.4 per cent in October to 56.4 per cent now. By comparison, Purvanov's disapproval rating rose from 44.9 per cent to 54.8 per cent.

Former EU commissioner Meglena Kuneva is among the top five politicians who enjoy steady approval.

The poll found that Prosecutor General Boris Velchev's disapproval rating went up from 60.6 per cent to 65.2 per cent in six months.

The politicians with the highest disapproval ratings are the same as before the July parliamentary elections: Ahmed Dogan, leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, is first with 87 per cent, followed by Democrats for Strong Bulgaria leader Ivan Kostov with 81.8 per cent, and Ataka leader Volen Siderov with 81.1 per cent. Yane Yanev, leader of Order, Lawfulness, Justice, is currently fourth with 80.1 per cent disapproval. National Assembly Chair Tsetska Tsacheva now has a disapproval rating of 54.6 per cent, up from 47.3 per cent in October.

The respondents' answers suggest that people are only now beginning to grasp the real scope of the crisis, which inevitably lowers popular confidence in the institutions, Pavlov said. In October 2009, 30.8 per cent of respondents said they expected things to change for the better, as against just 18 per cent now.

Also, 42.1 per cent now expect things to change for the worse, up from 18.7 per cent last October. The poll found that the approval rating of the Presidency, the National Assembly and the government is slipping. In contrast, the police enjoys the approval of 42.9 per cent of respondents, up from 34.9 per cent a year earlier.

Source: BTA