If the political season “autumn 2019 -spring 2020” in Ukraine began with the rapid growth of citizens’ confidence in the authorities, then entering the season “autumn 2020 – spring 2021” is taking place against the backdrop of a decline in confidence in government institutions, according to the results of a sociological study conducted by the social service of the Razumkov Center together with the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation.
In a press release published on Friday morning following the results of the survey, it is noted that most often citizens of Ukraine express confidence in the Armed Forces of the country (they are trusted by 65% of respondents), the church (63%), volunteer organizations (63%), the State Emergency Service (53%), volunteer battalions (53%), the State Border Guard Service (52%), Ukrainian media (50%), National Guard (49%), public organizations (47%). In all other institutions, distrust is expressed more often than trust.
Some 49% of citizens do not trust the President of Ukraine, 75% do not trust the Verkhovna Rada, 72% do not trust the government, and 78% do not trust the state apparatus (officials).
“There is a tendency towards a decrease in the level of trust in the authorities. So, if in December 2019 some 51.5% of respondents expressed distrust to the Cabinet of Ministers, then in July 2020 some 72% did not trust it, the Verkhovna Rada – 54% and 75% respectively, the President ˗ 31% and 49%, respectively,” say sociologists.
Political parties are not trusted by 71% of the respondents, and about 50% do not trust trade unions.
There is a high level of mistrust in the judicial system as a whole (77.5%), the Supreme Court (69%), and local courts (67.5%). Some 73% of respondents do not trust the Prosecutor’s Office, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) – 71%, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) – 70.5%, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) – 70%, the National Agency for the Corruption Prevention (NACP) – 70%.
Among law enforcement agencies, distrust of the police and the Security Service of Ukraine is somewhat less common (although mistrust also prevails over trust). Thus, 58% of respondents do not trust the National Police (33% trust), the Patrol Police (54% and 35%, respectively), the SBU (56% and 31%, respectively).
“The fact that the leader of mistrust is the state apparatus as a whole (78% of respondents do not trust it and the officials), indicates a high level of alienation between the structures of state power and society, which leads to a negative assessment of the activities of the authorities by citizens, except for those structures that ensure the defense of the state and the security of citizens (the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard, the State Emergency Service),” sociologists note.
The research was conducted by the social service of the Razumkov Center together with the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation from July 3 to July 9, 2020, by the method of face-to-face interviews at the place of residence of the respondents. Some 2,022 respondents aged 18 and over were interviewed in all regions of Ukraine, except Crimea and the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions with the sample representing the adult population in terms of the main socio-demographic indicators. The theoretical sampling error (excluding the design effect) does not exceed 2.3% with a probability of 0.95.
The survey was financed within the framework of the MATRA project of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.
