Social initiatives of the President: Pros and Cons

Press

Download report (UKR)

14.05.2012

Social initiatives of the President: Pros and Cons

According to a study conducted by the Rating Group, the absolute majority of Ukrainian citizens support the President’s social initiatives and are ready to significantly improve their attitude toward the Head of State if these initiatives are successfully implemented. However, far fewer believe in their successful implementation, while the majority consider the social initiatives to be populism for which the state has no money.
Awareness of the President’s social initiatives
58% of respondents are well informed about the social initiatives announced by the President in early March, 23% know about them in general terms, 10% have heard something but very little, and 9% know nothing at all.
People of older age with a relatively higher level of education are the best informed about the President’s social initiatives, especially in Donbas, the Center, and the East of the country. Interestingly, supporters of Svoboda and the Communist Party are more informed about the President’s social initiatives than supporters of the Party of Regions. The least interested are citizens who are undecided in their choice and those who do not plan to vote.
Support for individual social initiatives of the President
The absolute majority (from 84% to 94%) of respondents support the President’s social initiatives.
Thus, state stimulation of the creation of new jobs for young people and people of pre-retirement age is supported by 94% of respondents, including 74% who fully support it and 20% who rather support it.
Stabilizing prices for essential medicines for elderly people is supported by 93% of respondents, including 69% who fully support it and 24% who rather support it.
Doubling the one-time Victory Day payment to war invalids is supported by 93% of respondents, including 66% who fully support it and 27% who rather support it.
Increasing pensions for almost 9 million pensioners by at least 100 hryvnias is supported by 92% of respondents, including 64% who fully support it and 28% who rather support it.
Paying compensation of 1,000 hryvnias for devalued savings of the former USSR Savings Bank to more than 5 million citizens who did not receive them in 2008–2009 is supported by 89% of respondents, including 62% who fully support it and 27% who rather support it.
Introducing a wealth tax, in particular taxing apartments over 200 m², houses over 400 m², cars with engine volumes over 3.4 liters, etc., is supported by 89% of respondents, including 65% who fully support it and 24% who rather support it.
Introducing mortgage loans at 2–3% for certain categories of citizens is supported by 84% of respondents, including 58% who fully support it and 26% who rather support it.
Social initiatives are supported almost equally in different regions of the country. At the same time, there are certain differences depending on political sympathies.
Thus, the introduction of mortgage loans at 2–3% is more supported by supporters of the Party of Regions and Front for Change, and least supported by supporters of Batkivshchyna.
The wealth tax is more supported by supporters of the Communist Party, and least by supporters of Batkivshchyna and Svoboda.
Compensation payments for devalued USSR Savings Bank deposits are equally supported by supporters of the Communist Party, Svoboda, and the Party of Regions, and least by UDAR and Front for Change.
State stimulation of job creation for young people and those of pre-retirement age is more supported by supporters of the Communist Party, Party of Regions, and Front for Change, and least by Svoboda. Doubling the Victory Day payment to war invalids and stabilizing medicine prices for the elderly are more supported by supporters of the Communist Party.
As we can see, the President’s social initiatives were liked most by supporters of the Communist Party.
Belief in the implementation of the President’s social initiatives is two to three times lower than their level of support.
Thus, respondents most believe in the implementation of the initiative to double the one-time Victory Day payment to war invalids (52% believe, 36% do not), as well as raising pensions by at least 100 hryvnias (47% believe, 42% do not), and paying compensation of 1,000 hryvnias for devalued USSR Savings Bank deposits (41% believe, 47% do not).
Least believed in are initiatives to stabilize medicine prices (32% believe, 56% do not), create new jobs (27% believe, 59% do not), introduce cheap mortgages (27% believe, 55% do not), and introduce a wealth tax (28% believe, 60% do not).
People in the West and Donbas believe the least in the implementation of the President’s social initiatives. Significantly more believe in the South, Center, and North.
Only supporters of the Party of Regions believe in the implementation of social initiatives (from 55% to 80%) more than they disbelieve. Supporters of the Communist Party also believe in their implementation (from 30% to 65% depending on the initiative). Among supporters of opposition parties, relatively more belief is shown by supporters of UDAR, Svoboda, and Front for Change.
Attitudes toward the social initiatives
35% of respondents believe that the state has the necessary funds to implement the President’s social initiatives, 47% believe that there is no money for them, and 18% could not answer.
Those who believe that such funds exist are primarily supporters of the Party of Regions, and to a lesser extent the Communist Party, Batkivshchyna, and UDAR.
Interestingly, those who believe that the necessary funds exist are twice as likely to believe in successful implementation.
75% of respondents believe that President Viktor Yanukovych’s social initiatives are rather pre-election populism, and only 14% consider them rather care for people. Relatively more people who consider the initiatives care for people live in the South of the country.
Half of Party of Regions supporters consider the initiatives care for people, while one third consider them pre-election populism. Supporters of all other political forces overwhelmingly consider the initiatives pre-election populism, even Communist Party supporters, who liked them the most.
Interestingly, those who consider the social initiatives to be care for people are three times more likely to believe in their successful implementation.
90% of respondents who believe that there is no money for the initiatives and 60% of those who believe that there is money consider them pre-election populism.
Despite the fact that most respondents consider the President’s social initiatives to be pre-election populism, a significant share are ready to improve their attitude toward Viktor Yanukovych if they are successfully implemented.
Thus, 19% of respondents said their attitude toward President Viktor Yanukovych would definitely improve if the initiatives are implemented, and another 23% said it would rather improve. 46% think their attitude will not change, only 3% think it will worsen, and 9% could not answer.
Thus, more than 40% of respondents could improve their attitude toward the Head of State if he fulfills his social promises — almost twice the current level of trust in Viktor Yanukovych.
Those most ready to improve their attitude toward Yanukovych are residents of the South, East, and Center of the country; more often older people and youth; more often city residents than rural; more often women than men.
An absolute majority of Party of Regions supporters, at least half of Communist Party supporters, about 40% of the undecided and those who do not plan to vote are ready to improve their attitude toward the President if the initiatives are fulfilled.
The most steadfast are supporters of Svoboda and Civic Position, although even among them about a quarter could improve their attitude toward Yanukovych if the initiatives are implemented.
Notably, among those who consider the initiatives pre-election populism, almost one third are ready to improve their attitude toward Yanukovych if they are fulfilled. At the same time, almost 90% of those who consider the initiatives care for people are ready to improve their attitude toward him.

Methodology

Survey audience: population of Ukraine aged 18 and older
Sample size: 2000 respondents
Method: face-to-face formalized interview
Margin of error (95% confidence): for values near 50% no more than 2.2%, near 30% no more than 2%, near 10% no more than 1.3%, near 5% no more than 1%
Fieldwork: 15–26 March 2012
Regions:
- West — Volyn, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Chernivtsi
- Center — Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy
- North — Kyiv city, Kyiv region, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv
- South — Crimea, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Sevastopol
- East — Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv
- Donbas — Donetsk, Luhansk