In May, 21.2 percent of those surveyed said the president was the best politician representing their interests, and 17.1 percent named the prime minister, compared to 21.5 percent and 18 percent respectively in April, according toa survey by public opinion and market research company Vilmorus for the Lietuvos Rytas daily.
MEP Rolandas Paksas, leader of the Order and Justice party, came in third with 4.8 percent, and Labor Party leader Viktor Uspaskich (4.6 percent) was fourth. Last month, their popularity ratings were 2.7 percent and 5 percent respectively.
The two were followed by former Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, leader of the opposition Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats, with 2.8 percent, the Order and Justice party's Environment Minister Valentinas Mazuronis (1.8 percent), Social Democrat Health Minister Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis (1.7 percent), former President Valdas Adamkus (1.7 percent), MEP Vytautas Landsbergis (1.7 percent), one of the Homeland Union's leaders Irena Degutienė, (1.4 percent), Eligijus Masiulis, leader of the Liberal Movement, (1.1 percent) and MP Petras Gražulis of the Order and Justice party (1 percent).
In a separate rating, President Grybauskaitė also outdid Prime Minister Butkevičius. Asked which politician they favored most, 70.1 percent named the president and 61.9 percent chose the prime minister.
Meanwhile Social Democrat Minister of Transport and Communications Rimantas Sinkevičius (7.1 percent) and Minister of the Interior Dailis Barakauskas of the Order and Justice party with 6.6 percent were the least favored politicians.
Social Democrats still the most popular party
The popularity of the Lithuanian opposition Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats has grown in a month, and that of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, the Liberal Movement, and the Labor Party has dropped slightly, according to the survey by Vilmorus.
The Social Democrats remain the most popular party in Lithuania. Their rating, however, dropped a bit and is the lowest in three months. The survey showed that their rating dropped almost 1 percent to 29.3 percent in May. This is the percentage of people surveyed who said they would vote for the party if general elections were held in the coming Sunday. 30.1 percent named the party in April and 29.9 percent in March.
The Labor Party came in second with 10.3 percent, compared to 12.7 percent in April and 13.6 percent in March.
The opposition Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats were third. Their popularity rating was 10.1 percent, compared to 9.3 percent in April and 8.8 percent in March.
The party is followed by the ruling Order and Justice party, as 7.9 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for the party, up by 0,9 percent as compared to April but the same percentage as in March.
The popularity of the remaining parties does not exceed the 5-percent threshold, with the opposition Liberal Movement closest to the threshold, 4.9 percent. The same percentage of people named the party in March. 5.8 percent said in April they would vote for the Liberal Movement.
Meanwhile, the number of undecided voters has also gone up. In May, 12.4 percent said they would not vote in general elections at all (11.9 percent in April) and 15.9 percent (13.7 percent in April) were undecided.
The survey was carried out on May 10-19.
