NACTA: President Richards leads in popularity

According to NACTA’s recent survey, President Max Richards is the most  popular public figure in Trinidad and Tobago. Respondents were asked if their  opinion of several public figures was positive (favourable) or negative  (unfavourable) or neutral (positive and negative opinion cancel each other) or if they  didn’t know enough of the person to form an opinion. The positive and negative  rating of an individual is not the same as the person’s approval rating for  his or her job performance but rather how well he or she is liked or disliked by  the population. According to the survey, which was conducted by Vishnu Bisram, President  Max Richards has the highest favourable (positive) rating at 69 percent as well as the  lowest unfavourable rating at 14 percent among all public figures suggesting he is  the most likeable “politician” in the nation.

The President’s nearest rivals for favourable rating are Winston Dookeran  at 60 percent, former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj at 57 percent, Works  Minister Franklyn Khan at 51 percent, Education Minister Hazel Manning at 47 percent, Trade  Minister Ken Valley at 43 percent, and Planning Minister Keith Rowley at 33 percent. Attorney  General Glenda Morean (27 percent), Health Minister Colm Imbert (26 percent), National Security  Minister Howard Chin Lee (24 percent) and Agriculture Minister John Rahael (19 percent) are at the  bottom of the list. Respondents spoke glowingly of the President, especially of the  non-partisan manner in which he conducts himself in office and his approachability. He  is the most likeable President the country has had since Noor Hassanali. While Dookeran has a slighter higher (by 3 percent) positive rating than  Maharaj, he has a slightly higher negative rating (by 2 percent) than Maharaj whose  negative stands at 20 percent, second only to the President.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s unfavourable rating is at an all time high at 42 percent  while his positive is at an all time low 32 percent. Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday’s positive rating is also  low, just below Manning, at 28 percent and unfavourable rating at a high 41 percent. Calculating the differences between the positives and negatives of the  politicians, the President is in the lead with 55% followed by Dookeran at 38 percent,  Maharaj at 37 percent, Khan at 20 percent, Hazel Manning at 10 percent, and Valley at 5 percent. Prime  Minister Manning and Panday are trailing way behind with negatives as are the  other politicians tested. The very high unfavourable net rating suggests serious  trouble for these politicians. They need to work on their public relations in  order to rehabilitate their image. Readers are cautioned that a high net  rating does not necessarily result in electoral success and a high negative net  rating does not necessarily result in defeat. The Prime Minister and several of his high profile Ministers are not  popular because voters are not happy with several measures recently proposed or  actions taken by them; many respondents also express strong disappointment with  the direction the Government is taking.  They also complain about the Government’s ineffectual handling of the crime situation and its mishandling of  corruption, health, the economy, Pigeon Point, the FCB-UTC merger, race relations,  Caroni Ltd and several other controversial issues.