The online survey “Survey on Political Parties” (2 February 2014, a convenience sample of 331 respondents) shows that participants primarily expect political parties to offer concrete solutions to social problems and to ensure a professional, merit-based selection of personnel, while a “charismatic leader” appears as a less important demand.
As the key characteristics of the party they would vote for, respondents most often choose: “to systematically develop the best solutions to problems in society” (14.63%) and “adequate selection of qualified experts/cadres” (12.24%). Only after that come elements of internal control and accountability, such as regular evaluation of the work of party officials (9.06%) and efficient party leadership/management (9.14%).
Respondents are divided in their voting behaviour: about a third (36.31%) always vote for the same party, almost the same share (36.01%) vote but change parties, while 12.20% do not vote at all. On the political closeness list (three parties), the highest shares go to the SNS (13.38%), Dveri (11.84%) and the DS (10.98%), but the share choosing “none” is also notably high (12.18%), pointing to a significant potential for political distance.
When asked which party has the greatest power to solve problems, the SNS is clearly first (36.31%), while at the same time a large share believe that no party does so (25.89%). However, the most important voting criterion is not power, but integrity: in the ranking, “party integrity” comes first (average position 1.63), ahead of capacity (1.94) and influence/power (2.43).
The sample includes more men (57.74%), with a median age of 31, and the largest share of respondents living in Belgrade (city centre 29.46%). The most common status is pupil/student (25.30%), followed by the unemployed (16.96%).
Methodological note: this was an online survey, so the results reflect the views of participants and do not constitute a representative sample of the population.