January 13, 2019, 10:42 pm / Politics

More than half of Russians support the resignation of the government

But their complaints are not against the prime minister personally, but against the government as a whole, sociologist Elena Mukhametshina explains.

The pension reform dropped the president’s ratings, which also affected the ratings of the government, the State Duma and governors / Andrey Makhonin / Vedomosti

More than half of Russians are in favor of the resignation of the government, according to a Levada Center survey: in December 2018, 53% of respondents said this, compared to 33% in November 2016. The main complaints against the cabinet are its inability to cope with rising prices and falling incomes population (57%), unwillingness to provide people with work (46%), lack of concern for the social protection of citizens (43%).

Over the past six months, general skepticism towards the authorities has grown, explains Levada Center sociologist Marina Krasilnikova: “The main complaints are still against the government, although the level of trust in the president has also dropped significantly. There is a steady deterioration in public sentiment. It is important that people more actively answer the question about claims against the government and give more varied and specific answers. This reflects the growing independence of Russians: they have less hope “for chance and for the state.” All this, naturally, was a consequence of raising the retirement age, says Krasilnikova: “This confirmed the fears of Russians that the state is not a very reliable institution, which is every now and then ready to terminate previously assumed obligations.” But it is unlikely that the role of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev specifically is significant for respondents, the sociologist believes: “If there were hints that another government was possible that would lead to real changes, then the number of supporters of resignation would be higher. When calling for the resignation of the government, people say that everything is bad and that social policy issues in the country are not being resolved.”

The pension reform dropped the president’s ratings, which also affected the ratings of the government, the State Duma, and governors, says political scientist Nikolai Petrov: “The president forced everyone to be bad cops, but he himself wanted to look good. But this did not add points to him, and the government found itself in the position of whipping boys. This is due to all the decisions that the government rolled out after the presidential elections, which were negatively perceived by citizens.” It is unlikely that people associate the government with Medvedev; he is an insignificant factor, so it is logical to expect the government’s early resignation, the expert says: “Another thing is that if earlier there were strong figures who concentrated all the discontent of citizens, then Medvedev is not such a figure now. And the resignation of the government in this sense will not play the role that it could: by weakening the government as an actor, the Kremlin has reduced the opportunity for itself to gain additional points in the event of the resignation of the cabinet.” Nevertheless, the resignation scenario can be used if citizens’ trust continues to decline and it is necessary to find a switchman, Petrov admits: “Although the government today is twice technical and making it a political sacrifice is no longer as profitable as it could be.”