According to the results of a new survey, the popularity of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, has fallen significantly. Most voters oppose him running for a second term. This is shown by the results of a study conducted by the "Social Monitoring" center commissioned by the American organization American Political Services, cited by the British newspaper The Times . Although the survey data itself is not published on the center's website, the press notes that the results of the study do not give Zelensky high chances of re-election.
Only 16% of respondents said they would vote for Zelensky's re-election for a second term. About 60% of voters opposed his re-candidacy. If Zelensky decides to run for office, in the first round he may lose to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, who is supported by 27% of voters. Zaluzhny is ahead of the president by more than 10%, which indicates a significant drop in Zelenskyi's popularity among Ukrainians.
According to experts, the reasons for Zelensky's popularity decline are corruption scandals and general fatigue from the war. This, according to The Times , negatively affected his image. In addition, the political situation in Ukraine is worsening due to the president's attempts to make a number of controversial decisions, in particular regarding the mobilization policy. One of these decisions is the bill on lowering the mobilization age, which the president approved only after long disputes.
According to the report, Zelensky's popularity may fall even more if he makes concessions to the United States and decides to lower the mobilization age to 18. This may cause additional discontent among Ukrainians, as such a decision is likely to have negative social consequences. As the British expert on Ukraine Andrew Wilson notes, the topic of early elections is actively discussed against the background of such events, and this may become the main reason for holding new elections.
It is also worth noting that Russian propaganda is actively working on the question of Zelensky's legitimacy in the eyes of the international community, in particular among Republicans in the USA. Now this topic is gaining popularity, and in the USA they again started talking about the possibility of holding new presidential elections in Ukraine. Experts note that this may be part of the Kremlin's strategic game aimed at destabilizing the political situation in Ukraine.
At the same time, many experts believe that it would be better for Zelensky to hold elections before his popularity drops even more. They believe that the organization of early elections could be a profitable strategy in order to avoid a further drop in the rating. At the same time, the question of new elections remains open.
