Residents of Georgia voice decrease in confidence in authorities

According to a survey published by the National Democratic Institute, more than half of Georgian residents consider the activities of the country's authorities as ineffective. The decline in the confidence in the authorities is caused by the deterioration in the economic situation of people, explain political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

53% of the Georgian population believe that the country is developing in the wrong direction, while only 19% voice the opposite opinion. These are the results of the sociological survey conducted in by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Caucasus Research Resource Centres (CRRC) Georgia in the period from November 19 to December 23, 2019.

The Georgian government was generally negatively assessed: 64% of the population rated the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers as "bad" and "very bad", and 30% ‑ as "good" and "very good." In March 2018, the government's activities were positively assessed by 49% of the population, while 45% of Georgian residents mentioned them as poorly.

Nika Chitadze, Professor in Social Sciences at the International Black Sea University, described the socio-economic situation as the main reason for the decline in the ruling party's rating. "People don't see their expectations of improving living conditions with regard to their economic situation being fulfilled. People's incomes are falling, and prices are growing. So, the people see that the ruling party has failed to cope with the challenges it faced," Nika Chitadze explained.

In Georgia, the living conditions of people have been declining during the seven years the "Georgian Dream" Party has been in power, agrees Giorgi Gobronidze, Professor in Political Sciences at the European University.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 17, 2020 at12:46 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.