Lithuania's trust in President Paksas slips badly, poll finds

Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas is losing his authority in the country. That was the finding of a poll conducted November 20-23 by the Vilmorus Market and Opinion Research Center. The results were published in the newspaper Lietuvos Ritas.

While President Paksas had the trust of 64.7% of the populace in October and stood in first place in ratings of the country's top political figures, he is now in 14th place, and his confidence rating is down to 37.4%. It is noteworthy that his strongest support comes from among older, less well educated people, largely from the countryside and stands at 49% among persons 70 and older.

Younger, educated Lithuanians view Paksas' work negatively. Half of those between the ages of 18 and 29 disapprove of him. That is also the position of 54% of those polled in the 30-39 age range. Students, including those still in school, are particularly critical of the president (60%).

At the same time, 69% of Lithuanians express confidence in Vitautas Grigaravichius, the republic's general commissioner.