NDI poll shows patriarch remains most liked in Georgia

Patriarch Ilia II (seated, left) remains highly liked in Georgia, while former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has had a drop in popularity. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–A new poll published by National Democratic Institute (NDI) shows that Patriarch Ilia II remains the most liked person in Georgia.

96 percent of those asked say the like the patriarch. 61 percent say they like Davit Usupashvili, Speaker of Parliament; 51 percent like Kakhi Kaladze, Minister of Energy and Vice Prime Minister.

According to the poll, 67 percent of those questioned say they like Irakli Alasania, while 64 percent like Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, 7 percent less than in November, 2013.

When it comes to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the businessman who created Georgian Dream and served as prime minister the first year, 51 percent say they like him. This is down from 74 percent last November. 46 percent said they like Georgian president Giorgi Margvelashvili, while 72 said they liked him in November. 23 percent said they like ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, 24 percent said so in November.

NDI asked respondents how would they rate the performance of each famous person, and again the patriarch is number one with 77 percent saying he’s doing very well, 14 percent answering well. The speaker of parliament is in second place with 37 percent saying he’s doing very well or well, followed by MP Davit Bakradze from UNM with 28 percent characterizing his performance as well or very well. The next one on the list is Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili.

The highest score among ministers in terms of performance is achieved by Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, with 44 percent saying he is doing very well or well, followed by Health Minister Davit Sergeenko with 32 percent, Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani with 35 percent, Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze with 31 percent and Energy Minister Kakhi Kaladze with 31 percent.

The Georgian Army is on the top of the list among state bodies with 61 percent followed by the police with 51 percent and the Central Election Commission with 22 percent.

25 percent approved of the performance of the Georgian Dream coalition, drastically lower than in November, when 50 percent said they were performing well. 11 percent approved of the performance of UNM; unchanged since November. 14 percent approved of the performance of Parliament, and 11 percent approved of the Prosecutor’s Office.

The poll was conducted March 26-April 18, 2014.