One year after the formation of the Government of Serbia, the survey is dominated by an impression of dissatisfaction—alongside a feeling that the public lacks sufficiently reliable information about the government’s performance. Only 12.78% of respondents say the media provide adequate information about the government’s activities, while 39% believe they do not. When it comes to the results of the government’s work, scepticism is even more pronounced: just 8.30% believe the information is adequate, while as many as 46.64% answer no.
In assessing the government’s work during its first year, only 29.25% give a positive rating (from “good” to “excellent”), while a combined 58.5% place it in the “bad” (29.12%) and “very bad” (29.38%) categories. At the same time, more than half (51.38%) believe the media did not help citizens to see both the positive and negative sides of the government’s performance—raising the question of whether the poor rating reflects results, communication, or both.
What do citizens expect as “proof of success”? Economic issues are chosen most often: reducing unemployment and encouraging investment (11.39%), followed closely by fighting crime and corruption / strengthening the rule of law (9.78%), then healthcare (9.67%) and education (8.64%). The position of young people also ranks relatively high (7.03%), while EU integration (1.84%) sits near the bottom of the priority list.
When respondents “enter” specific policy areas, the picture becomes even bleaker: for promoting employment, 67.19% say it has not been achieved; for the quality of education, 71.81%; and for fighting corruption in healthcare, 66.80%. The assessment of amendments to the Labour Law stands out in particular: 35.05% believe they were implemented, but that they caused harm.
The political consequence of such a climate is mass indecision: if elections were next week, 29.51% would vote but do not know for whom, 18.05% would not vote, and 12.91% would spoil/void their ballot—altogether more than 60% outside a clear electoral choice.
Methodological note: the survey was conducted on 20 April 2015 (N=748 respondents). The sample is a convenience sample and is not representative of the overall population; the findings describe the views of panel participants at that moment in time.