| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
“Chairwarmers, idiots, and swindlers”
// Russians evaluate the work of State Duma deputies
Most Russians believe that State Duma deputies fail to do their job and go by vested interests. Just 5 percent of those polled think that the Duma might work better if it is elected by party lists only. That is the data of the poll carried out by the Public Opinion Fund in July, published on Friday. Strange as it may seem, many deputies agree with such evaluation. However, they explain it by different reasons.
The Public Opinion Fund polled 1500 people in 44 regions of Russia on July 14th-15th. Thus, 45 percent of those polled think that most State Duma deputies do their job “badly and very badly”; 36 percent gave a satisfactory mark to the deputies; just 6 percent said their work is excellent, and 13 percent could not answer. Consequently, over half of Russians (nearly 52 percent) are dissatisfied with the Duma deputies’ work.
The Fund also asked the question “What comes first to your mind when you hear words ‘State Duma deputy’?”. The most popular characteristics given to the deputies were “chairwarmers” (14 percent), “idiots” or “replete people” (8 percent), and “thieves, corrupt officials, and swindlers” (8 percent). Just 15 percent gave positive characteristics, while over 40 percent gave negative or strongly negative ones.
However, the deputies themselves believe that Russians’ negative evaluation of their work is explicable, although they give different reasons. Andrei Vorobiev of United Russia faction said that people “do not understand quite well what exactly the deputies do”. He added the activities of the Duma should be better covered by mass media. Sergei Popov of Yabloko faction said that “Russians’ negative attitude to the state authorities in general stands behind their negative attitude to the Duma”.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 21, 2007
|
|
|
