The majority of Ukrainians think that the epidemic of flu will not affect the presidential elections, according to a survey carried out by Research & Branding Group.
R&B Group sociologist Yevhen Kopatko presented the results of the survey at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Dec. 1.
He said that 79.8 % of the respondents claimed that the epidemic of flu in Ukraine would not affect the presidential elections, while 14.7% said the opposite.
According to Kopatko, 71% of those polled think that public concern over the epidemic of flu in Ukraine was taken advantage over for political purposes.
"Society responded rather actively, and Ukrainians saw a political aspect… but this didn’t bring any political dividends to any of the political forces and the country as a whole," the sociologist said.
At the same time, Kopatko noted, "I wouldn’t like to politicize this topic in favor of somebody or something so that not to use this as a subject of political struggles."
According to him, Ukrainians think that the entire top leadership of the country is equally responsible for the epidemic of flu and the fight against it.
Moreover, according to the majority of Ukrainians (58% of the respondents), the domestic mass media exaggerated the scale and consequences of the epidemic.
The poll was held in 24 regions of Ukraine and Crimea from November 20 through Dec. 1, 2009 by R&B Group. A total of 2,000 respondents participated in the survey. The poll’s margin of error is 2.2%.
The presidential elections in Ukraine are scheduled for Jan. 17, 2010.
