The performance of the current convocation of the Saeima has received one of the lowest ratings this century, according to a survey conducted by the research company SKDS.
In a poll carried out this March, only 13% of respondents said that the current Saeima is performing better than the previous one, while 66% held the opposite view, and 22% were unable to form an opinion.
The 66% negative assessment is the highest such figure this century. For comparison, in 2022, 63% of respondents, in 2009 – 62%, in 2021 – 61%, and in 1999 – 60% expressed the opinion that the current Saeima was performing worse than its predecessor. The lowest levels of criticism were recorded during the “fat years” from 2003 to 2006, when only 34% to 43% of respondents evaluated the parliament’s work negatively.
Meanwhile, the 13% who rated the current Saeima’s work more highly than the previous parliament represent one of the lowest figures this century. The same result was recorded in 2016 and 2017, while in 2008, 2009, and 2023 it was only slightly higher – 14%.
By contrast,
the highest rating for parliamentary performance in the survey was recorded in 2003,
when 35% of respondents believed that the Saeima of that convocation was working better than its predecessor, while 37% disagreed.
“The picture is bleak. If after the elections of 2003 and 2012 there was a slight flash of enthusiasm in the surveys, then the last three election cycles have brought no hope at all,” commented SKDS Director Arnis Kaktiņš.
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