PM Igor Matovič (source: SITA)
The public's trust in PM Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) keeps falling, due in part to the chaotic measures his cabinet continues to implement to contain Covid-19.
This stems from a poll carried out by the Focus agency for the Na Telo political talk show of private broadcaster TV Markíza between January 12 and 19 on 1,005 respondents.
Matovič’s trustworthiness jumped to 48 percent in April 2020, shortly after the 2020 general election. This was partly due to the expectations people had from him, said Martin Slosiarik, head of Focus.
“The prime minister benefited from the electoral victory and the enthusiasm of a considerable part of the public about the political change after the eight-year rule of Smer,” Slosiarik said, as quoted by the Sme daily. “There were no internal conflicts in the ruling coalition at the time and despite the starting coronavirus crisis, nothing implied that it would have significant impacts on his trustworthiness.”
The pandemic did have an impact. The public's trust in the prime minister fell to 21 percent in mid-January, which is close to the level of far-right ĽSNS chair Marian Kotleba (21 percent) and Smer chair Robert Fico (20 percent).
At the same time, 78 percent of respondents said they distrust Matovič.
Problematic communication
One of the main factors of the falling trust in the prime minister is the way he communicates to the public about the coronavirus crisis, according to Slosiarik.
“He often has to explain the differences in the attitudes of the ruling coalition, and it is often him who becomes a target of public rage,” he said, adding that the public often sees the prime minister as the person responsible for the state the country is currently in.
Matovič often blames others for the problems the country is currently facing. One of his most frequent targets is Economy Minister Richard Sulík, who chairs the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party.
President the most trusted
The most trustworthy politician in Slovakia is President Zuzana Čaputová, who is trusted by 64 percent of respondents. She is also the only politician who is trusted by the majority as only 35 percent of respondents said they do not trust her.
She is followed by Hlas chair and former PM Peter Pellegrini with the trust of 44 percent (55 percent distrust) of the public. Sulík has 37-percent trust (63 percent distrust), and Investments Minister and Za Ľudí chair Veronika Remišová was fourth with 30-percent of the public's trust (67 percent distrust).
Speaker of Parliament Boris Kollár of Sme Rodina is the least trusted among coalition leaders. Only 20 percent of respondents said they trust him, while 79 percent said they do not trust him.
