In the third and last part of the Politmonitor poll, carried out by TNS Ilres on behalf of RTL and the Luxemburger Wort, respondents were asked to rate Luxembourg’s political figures by popularity and competence. The results leave no doubt that politicians are the big losers of this poll.
Read part 1: 54% of population supports mandatory vaccination
Read part 2: 70% of citizens do not feel well informed about constitutional reform
22 from 35 politicians have lost percentage points compared to the last poll in June. Across all major parties, several politicians have gone down significantly in popularity, according to Tommy Klein from TNS Ilres.
The party most affected by the drop in popularity is the DP, with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel losing 8 points from his previous score. Finance minister Pierre Gramegna has lost 5 points from his position in the last Politmonitor survey. The Greens have also seen their scores reduce, with Sam Tanson dropping three points to 11th place, meaning none of the party’s ministers make the top 10. Environment minister Carole Dieschbourg attained a score of -8.
DP minister Corinne Cahen lost 8 points from her score, while party head Gilles Baum lost 6. Green minister Henri Kox, who is responsible for housing, dropped six points, while his fellow party member and vice-deputy prime minister François Bausch’s score dropped by five.
Among the top 10 politicians, the LSAP rule supreme, occupying 5 places in the ranking. Minister of Health Paulette Lenert maintains her spot at the top with an approval rating of 86%, although she has dropped 3 percentage points since the last survey in June. Jean Asselborn follows with 77%, losing 4 points compared to June.
Klein explains that although the LSAP has indeed lost percentage points, on the whole they have fared better than their coalition counterparts in the DP and the Green Party.
The situation is much the same for the government’s largest opposing party, the CSV. Of the eight politicians included in the survey, six have lost points. In comparison to the last Politmonitor survey, party head Claude Wiseler has lost nine points, the biggest drop in popularity among his party members.
CSV general secretary Christophe Hansen lost 5 points compared to June, while Esch-sur-Alzette mayor George Mischo has lost 6. Parliamentary leader Gilles Roth lost three points, while in contrast, his co-president Martine Hansen gained two points.
Despite the general losses among the country’s top politicians, there are some who have gained popularity in the eyes of the population. One of the so-called big winners, according to Klein, is Sven Clement of the Pirate Party, who has jumped up two places in the ranking with an additional three points. Paul Galles has also seen an increase of four points.
It would seem that the public is more inclined to value bigger personalities from the smaller opposition parties, such as Clement, or Myriam Cecchetti who has received more widespread acknowledgement recently with a gain of five points. The ADR‘s Fernand Kartheiser has also experienced an increase of four points in terms of competence, rising two points on average.
Tommy Klein explains the loss of popularity and competence points among the bigger parties thus: “This assessment is closely linked to current events. In media coverage, certain things come to the fore, and there are always people subjected to attacks by the opposition, which can evoke feelings such as a lack of stability, or lack of sympathy. There are lots of things which can affect the public’s view of a person’s competence, or appeal, in the short term”.
Klein stopped short of claiming that the public have lost faith in politics, but said it was clear that people felt more cautious in these politically unsteady times.
This survey targeted 1,016 participants, between 2-10 November. Participants are representative of Luxembourg’s population as a whole. Further details on the methods used for the survey, as well as the questionnaire itself, can be found at Alia.lu
