Public opinion polls show: Lithuania is happening
Trust the army
Record: Net 68 percent Lithuanians trust the army. “This is an assessment of the highest army throughout the survey period since 1998,” said Dr. Sociologist, head of the Vilmorus Center for Public Opinion and Market Research. Vladas Gaidys. Elsewhere in the EU, the military is rated very well, but according to Eurobarometer surveys, we even have the highest EU average.
In a Vilmorus survey in May, just over one in ten (9.4 per cent) said they were distrustful of the army, and just over one in five (22.6 per cent) could not have a strong opinion.
However, the published survey figures reflect the opinion of the average statistical population. Looking deeper, it seems as if some sections of society live in states on a large scale: in some groups, just over a couple of percent do not trust the military, and in others, as many as a third.
It is best appreciated by young people born already in independent Lithuania, and from the age of 50 the part of the distressed army has jumped significantly.
Opinions also differ according to the place of residence: Kaunas residents, Klaipėda residents, Šiauliai residents and Panevėžys residents trust the army more than the residents of smaller towns and villages.
Trends: The most positive are young people who are naturally optimistic. (Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė)
Compared to education, those who do not trust the army are less likely to have a higher education. The share of confidants is also growing, mainly for income.
Proponents of the Union of Attitudes and Political Perspectives: Most of our troops are among the Homeland Union-Christian Democrats (TS-LKD). The divide is also between the assessments of different nationalities: Lithuanians are much more confident than the Lithuanian residents of Russian nationality.
Youth – positive
Similar tendencies are assessed not only by the army, but also by other institutions: banks, Sodra, education, health care, courts, police or municipalities. The gap between different groups in society does not add to health, knowledge.
According to V.Gaidis, the analysis of the surveys shows that younger, rich people are more positive, healthier, and therefore probably happier.
“The youth and the TS-LKD electorate trust everything the most. Reasons tuli: young people value all institutions better, apparently because of their inherent optimism, they are more tolerant and enthusiastic about all issues. Conservative voters value state institutions better, perhaps because they support the party and some are in power themselves. The opinion of those who earn more is more favorable, ”the sociologist compares. The negative attitude in the poll is obviously Russians. However, he explains that one survey of people of other nations interviewed was too small to draw any sociological conclusions, but for a couple of years he analyzed the data from eleven months of Vilmorus surveys. Throughout 2019, for example, the military trusted 63.5 percent. Lithuanians did not trust 10.4 percent. There were more or less equal numbers of Russians who trusted (27.8%) and those who did not (27.9%), but the numbers differ by about one and a half times compared to Lithuanians.
Assessing the data of the research of the whole year, the national minorities did not trust the banks, the media or other institutions more. According to V.Gaidis, this can be explained by the weaker integration of national minorities into Lithuanian society.
It is perhaps not surprising that non-ruling party groups in society are more distrustful of the authorities. The Russians no longer trust even firefighters.
There is also a clear difference between the opinions of party supporters. Negative attitude and the Labor Party electorate. “It would not be possible to find what the voters of the ‘spears’ would appreciate enthusiastically. There are two components here: the electorate of this part is a less successful part of the society and the income aspects are received, secondly, the Russians vote for this part, and in all respects it is worse than the Lithuanian ones, ”V.Gaidys states.
By the way, when comparing the supporters of the opposition parties, it is not surprising that the Union of Peasants and Greens (LVŽS) split: supporters of Saulius Skvernelis’ Democratic Party “On behalf of Lithuania” are usually more positive than the peasants.
Kaunas residents, Klaipėda residents, Šiauliai residents and Panevėžys residents trust the army more than the inhabitants of smaller towns and villages.
R.Šimašius does not love Vilnius
Opinions differ between urban and rural areas, metropolitan areas and smaller towns. By the way, Kaunas residents are well above the average statistical population of Lithuania in terms of positivity. Their opinion about the army is close to the average, but, for example, they trust it more correctly (29%, on average in Lithuania 23.8%). It is true that the police deserve the trust of Kaunas residents less (58% trust, 14% do not trust, the Lithuanian average is 65.8 and 9.6%, respectively).
According to trust in municipalities, Kaunas residents are close to the national average (33% trust, 19% do not trust, Lithuania’s average is 34.9% and 18.7%, respectively). Vilnius municipalities, especially their own ones, are rated much worse: they are half as trusted by Kaunas residents (17.9 per cent), and more than a quarter (25.6 per cent) do not trust them. 36.1 percent of Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. 17.4% of the population have a positive attitude towards municipalities, they do not trust them.
“Vilnius evaluates municipalities the worst – maybe the mayor doesn’t like it, maybe the municipalities. In Kaunas, in the village there are better evaluations “, – notes V.Gaidys. Among the rural population, as many as 44.6 percent trust municipalities.
The party preferences of people in individual areas also differed in the survey. Kaunas residents promised the most votes to TS-LKD (27%), Social Democrats (11), Liberals (8), “For Lithuania” (6). Among Vilnius residents, there are also the most conservative supporters (20.5 per cent), slightly fewer Vardan Lietuvos (8.7), Social Democrats (8.2) and Liberals (6.7). Klaipėda residents, Šiauliai residents and Panevėžys residents would mostly support Vardan Lietuvos (12.6 per cent), almost equally Social Democrats (10.9 per cent) and Conservatives (10.1 per cent). The favorites of the rural population are the Social Democrats (21.5 per cent) and Vardan Lietuvos (10.8), slightly fewer LVŽS supporters (8.9).
We are Europeanising
It is interesting not only to compare the opinions of groups in our countries, but also to compare them with other Europeans. Not so long ago, we were known in polls as the most unhappy and one of the most distrustful of various institutions. However, the attitude of Lithuanians is changing for the better. For example, trust, the police have grown significantly during last year’s war.
According to V.Gaidis, as if the data of Eurobarometer surveys on European countries, the North and South axes: Scandinavians evaluate all institutions better than the population of Southern European countries – worse than the average. For example, local authorities, like institutions, are valued very well by the Scandinavian countries, and southern Europeans, such as the Italians and the Greeks, are very bad. The former socialist countries – Bulgaria, Romania – have less trust in their local government than the average statistical European. According to the municipalities, Lithuania is also slightly above average. In Bulgaria, the courts are also underestimated, while in Scandinavia, Western Europe, Germany and the Netherlands.
By the way, V.Gaidys points out, the evaluation of the courts and the police is considered to be a kind of criterion: the more good evaluations of these institutions, the closer the society is to Western social and psychological standards. “We are approaching them,” says the sociologist.