The main findings are hereafter presented:
The citizens are generally satisfied from the work of the Government:
Generally, the majority of citizens approve the work of the Government. Nevertheless, this support is less evident when respondents are being asked about concrete policies and projects of the Government. When asked about their perceptions on the work of the Government, more than half of the respondents (54.1%) said that they approved the work of the Government. The minority of citizens (37.8%) said they did not approve the work of the Macedonian Government.
Strategic priorities of the Government – three out of five positively assessed:
From the aspect of improving the Euro-Atlantic integrations, the multiethnic relations and the fight against crime and corruption, the majority of citizens (51.1% – 56.5%) think that the Government works well. The public opinion is divided on the rest of the declared strategic goals of the Government: economic development and education. The citizens are divided also around the political pressure of the Government in improving the infrastructure.
In general, the citizens think that the Government is not putting enough effort in the public administration, judiciary and press freedom reforms:
The public does not agree that the Government takes the necessary action on the key remarks from the last European Commission Country Progress Report. This is the opinion of the majority of citizens on the reforms in the judiciary, the public administration and press freedom.
Ministry of Health – double standards for ethnic Macedonians; Ministry of Justice – best for the ethnic Albanians; Ministry of Economy – on the bottom:
The Ministry of Health is simultaneously the best and the worst Ministry, as assessed by the Macedonian public. The largest percent (32.9%) from the ethnic Macedonians voted positively for this Ministry, while 30% were against it. The political polarity among the citizens affects this public opinion. Among the ethnic Albanian respondents, the Ministry of Justice is most highly ranked (28%), while they were most dissatisfied from the Ministry of Economy (34.9%). Half of the respondents did not point out concrete Ministries. In this group, two thirds think that none of the Ministries work well.
The economic condition is a mutual priority, education is of utmost importance to the ethnic Albanians:
The economic condition is the biggest mutual priority of the citizens, regardless of the ethnic or party affiliation. It can be noticed that education has a high priority among the ethnic Albanian respondents, which is not the case with the ethnic Macedonians (48.8% of the ethnic Albanians and 10.2% of the ethnic Macedonians said that education is a field where the Government should pay more attention).
Most of the citizens support Skopje 2014; those not approving this project think that the money could have been used differently:
The majority of citizens (51.1%) support the project Skopje 2014. Large majority of the ethnic Albanian respondents do not accept the project, while 59.1% from the ethnic Macedonians accept it. One quarter from the ethnic Albanians accept the project. Large majorities from SDSM, DUI and DPA sympathizers, do not accept the project, as well as the majority (53.3%) of the neutral respondents. Those who don’t like the project i.e. two thirds, think that the money could have been used otherwise. This is a mutual perception, irrespective of the ethnic affiliation and it comes before the aesthetic or ethnic reasons for not accepting the project.
Opposition-Government/ two parallel political worlds, the neutral ones are balanced:
There is a strong political polarization of the views for most of the questions. The perception for the political reality is exceptionally different among the sympathizers from different tabors. For most of the questions, the respondents do not manage to raise above their party affiliation. From the aspect of opinion structure, the party sympathizers show similar consistency (consequence), however the stubbornness (rigidity) of the opinions is more expressive among the VMRO-DPMNE sympathizers. Half of the respondents, declaring themselves as neutral, expressed balanced views and perceptions.
The ethnic Albanians are dominantly critical:
Irrespective of the party affiliation, it can be concluded that there is a higher level of criticism among the ethnic Albanians. When asked about a general impression, DUI sympathizers are mildly critical towards the Government, but when asked about the Government policies they are extremely critical.
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