Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller - file photo
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has again suffered a significant loss in her ratings, according to the latest Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson opinion polls.
At the same time, Opposition Leader Bruce Golding is registering improved ratings.
The opinion polls, which were conducted on October 28 and 29, used 1,008 residents in 84 communities across Jamaica's 14 parishes.
The survey, with a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent, showed that Mrs. Simpson Miller has lost six percentage points in ratings compared with the 60 per cent she scored in July. Meanwhile, Bruce Golding's ratings have increased by four percentage points, from 31 per cent in July to 35 per cent in October.
Since the last opinion polls in July, the People's National Party (PNP) has been rocked by the Trafigura Beheer scandal and several candidate selection rows
The Prime Minister herself has also had to deal with criticisms following the publication of sketches made by her during a no-confidence motion brought against the Government in Parliament.
Pollster Bill Johnson believes the decline in ratings for the Prime Minister represents to a greater extent people's disappointment in her performance, as opposed to her handling of several scandals that have plagued the Government.
"Clearly, people who were enthusiastic and very hopeful about her are beginning to have second thoughts about her over the last seven months ... I honestly think that it isn't so much the collective weight of the various controversies, as much as it's disappointment that she is not living up to the expectations people had for her," he said.
Bruce Golding - file
Mr. Johnson believes the recent public relations strategy aimed at softening
the image of Bruce Golding has contributed to his slight increase in approval ratings. "The JLP started electronic ads featuring Mr. Golding and his family members. They are trying to soften him up and I think it has had an effect," said Mr. Johnson.
The findings also showed a 10-percentage point increase in the unfavourable ratings of the Prime Minister, from 19 per cent in July to 29 per cent in October.
Mr. Johnson said he was surprised at the huge gender gap in support for the Prime Minister. The findings show that 60 per cent of the women interviewed were in favour of Mrs. Simpson Miller's leadership compared with a 49 per cent rating by men.
The pollster also reported yesterday that the PNP, which has been in power since 1989, could lose the next general elections if the current trends of declining support for the party president continue.
"The trend lines are not very positive for the PNP; it has negative momentum in terms of both the popularity of the Prime Minister and its vote and the JLP is finally starting to gain positive momentum in terms of the vote."
Mr. Johnson also believes that the PNP has to convince the nation that it is doing a job and that it has sound plans for the country.
The following table shows the overall national trend among registered voters since December. (The December numbers for voting behaviour assumed that Portia Simpson Miller was the Prime Minister).
| Dec | Mar | May | July | Oct |
Portia Simpson Miller | |
Opinion: Favourable | 64% | 78% | 64% | 60% | 54% |
| Unfavourable | 24 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 29 |
| Not sure | 11 | 10 | 20 | 21 | 17 |
Job Performance:
Approve | | | | 55 | 49 |
| Disapprove | | | | 16 | 31 |
| Not Sure | | | | 29 | 20 |
Bruce Golding
Opinion: Favourable | 30% | 35% | 31% | 31% | 35% |
| Unfavourable | 40 | 50 | 42 | 44 | 46 |
| Not Sure | 30 | 15 | 27 | 25 | 20 |
- Source: Bill Johnson Polls
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