Shoigu the most popular Russian minister – poll

MOSCOW. Feb 1 (Interfax) – Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ranks first on the Cabinet members popularity chart (the prime minister and deputy prime ministers excluded), with 90% of respondents polled recently giving him highest marks, the Public Opinion Foundation pollster (FOM) has announced.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents polled on January 26 and 27 highly appraised his work since he took this post in November 2012.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in second place with 45% saying they know who he is, and 35% giving him their approval. Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko is in third place (respectively, 24% and 12%.)

Next comes Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, whose popularity grew from 6% in May 2012 to 12% now, with 10% of those surveyed giving him high marks for his performance.

Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova ranks fifth with 9% of respondents saying they are familiar with her work, and eighth in the approval rating, wining 5% approval, which is below the approval rating of Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov (8%), Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky (7) and Mass Media and Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov (6%).

Since the Cabinet was formed, the popularity of the ministers has risen manifold, with only 8% saying in January 2013 they know nothing about the listed ministers, compared to 35% in May 2012.

Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed said they keep an eye on what the Cabinet is doing, with 18% saying they do this regularly. About 31% of respondents said they do not care for the ministers’ work.

Thirty-five percent of those polled said the current Cabinet is a team of professionals, and 25% disagree with this and 40% are undecided.

Forty-one percent of respondents think the president is generally content with the ministers’ performance and 21% disagree with this opinion.

The poll involved 1,500 respondents in 100 localities of 43 regions.