Indonesia survey shows president’s approval hit by handling of pandemic

• Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s approval rating has fallen to the lowest level in five years on the back of a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections, a survey released on 25 Aug 21 showed.
• Conducted by Indikator Politik, the survey showed that 59% of respondents were satisfied with the president, the lowest ranking since Mar 16. The survey, which involved 1,220 respondents, was conducted between 30 Jul 21 to 4 Aug 21
• “While the lower approval rating for Widodo is mainly caused by the pandemic and the government’s largely inconsistent and confusing responses to the health crisis, it is unlikely the only factor,” said Todd Elliot, a senior analyst at Concord Consulting.
• “Trust in a government in Indonesia normally decreases if the economy is perceived as underperforming and the latest round of coronavirus curbs have hit businesses particularly hard.”
• Overall, 54.3% of respondents surveyed said they trusted the president to properly manage the health crisis, while perceptions of the country’s economic situation were the worst since 2004.
• The survey indicated widespread dissatisfaction with social restrictions intended to stem the spread of the virus that have been in place since early Jul 21.
• Only 42% of respondents agreed with the PPKM curbs, the survey showed.
• With more than 50% of Indonesians employed in the informal sector, the curbs have impacted people’s livelihoods hard with 79.2% of respondents saying their income had declined during the pandemic, and 53.3% describing their household economic situation as worse, or much worse.

External Link : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-survey-shows-presidents-approval-hit-by-handling-pandemic-2021-08-25/