[November 18, 2009] Approval rating of Premier down Tweet Nov 18, 2009 (Cayman Net News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Following last week's apparent decline in the government's approval rating according to our readers, the latest Cayman Net News online poll asked: "Do you approve or disapprove of Premier McKeeva Bush's performance after his first week in office?" A total of 214 readers responded using internet devices located in the Cayman Islands and, of these, 94 (43.9 percent) indicated their disapproval of the Premier's performance to date; 58 readers approved (27.1 percent); 56 (26.2 percent) thought it was too soon to say and 6 (2.8 percent) said they didn't know. Last week, the results of our poll question: "Do you approve or disapprove of the government's performance to date?" indicated that the approval rating of the government as whole had dropped from 56.4 percent some two months ago to 44.6 percent last week -- barely above the percentage of readers indicating disapproval (43.8 percent). While we were unable to reach the Premier for comment, UDP General Secretary, Ellio Solomon, noted that it was too early to run such a poll. "The UDP found this country in very difficult times and the things we have to do to fix the failings of the previous government may not make us popular, but we will do what has to be done, not because it is popular but because its right for the Cayman Islands and the Caymanian people, and we will always be driven by what is right and not by a premature poll run by the Cayman Net News," Mr Solomon told Cayman Net News. "I find it interesting that a story would be run on the Premier's first week in office as opposed to his 20 plus years of Service to the People of this country. It should be noted that 56.1% of the people polled either approved, weren't sure or said it was too early to know," he added. Member of the opposition People's Progressive Movement, Alden McLaughlin, however, commented briefly, saying, "The results are unsurprising." It is not uncommon for the popularity of government leaders to decline over time. For example, in the United States, President Barack Obama's job approval has been steadily declining since he took office, with the exception of a brief uptick in December last year and now stands at 51.2 percent. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's approval rating dropped faster than for any U.K. leader on record as support for the opposition rose to the highest in 16 years, according to a poll published today. Last year, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's rating fell more than former UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's popularity declined in 1940 after Hitler's invasion of Norway and the biggest drop of any leader since the survey began in the early 1930s. As a follow up question, visit CaymanNetNews.com to vote in the current online poll: "Do you think the United Democratic Party (UDP) would be better off under new leadership?" The Cayman Net News online polls are not scientific surveys and are intended for entertainment purposes only. To see more of the Cayman Net News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.caymannetnews.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Cayman Net News, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]