Riga, Sept. 11, LETA. Of the European Union (EU) member states, Latvians are most dissatisfied with the measures taken by the government to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey conducted this spring, but published in September.
In Latvia, only 35% of the population is satisfied with the work of the government in combating the coronavirus pandemic, while 64% of the respondents were not satisfied. The work of their governments in a pandemic has also been criticized by the Slovak people, where only 36% are satisfied, 38% in Slovenia, 39% in Spain and 41% in the Czech Republic.
On the other hand, the government’s work in the fight against Covid-19 was most appreciated in Denmark, where it was assessed positively by 85% of respondents, in Luxembourg – 84%, in the Netherlands – 74%, in Finland – 73%, and in Malta – 69%.
On average, 53% of respondents in the EU have assessed the work of national governments in combating a pandemic positively, but 46% negatively. In Estonia, the work of the government was positively assessed by 61% of the population, but in Lithuania – by 56%.
Latvians have also been noticeably more skeptical when assessing the EU’s actions during the Covid-19 pandemic – if on average in Europe 65% of respondents trusted EU decisions in the pandemic, then in Latvia – 58%.
At the same time, it has emerged from the answers of the Latvian population that it has been much easier for them to live with Covid-19 restrictions than on average in other EU countries. In Latvia, 42% of the respondents said that it was easy or very easy for them to live with restrictions, 33% gave a neutral answer, but 25% said that it was difficult or very difficult. In comparison, on average in the EU, 35% of respondents rated living with restrictions as easy, but 35% also rated it as difficult.
Asked to predict when the economy will recover from the Covid-19 crisis, Latvians have been more skeptical than the EU average. In Latvia, 5% and 6% in the EU have indicated that the economy has already recovered or will recover during this year, 13% in Latvia and 23% in the EU predict its recovery next year, 61% in Latvia and 60% in the EU predict economic recovery in 2023 or later, but 19% in Latvia and 8% in the EU have said that this will never happen.
–
