‘When you start thinking about ratings they start to fall’ – Putin
For President Putin its real work rather than the photo-op that’s putting him high in the opinion polls.
“I talked about it many times and these things require a serious approach. How do I understand a serious approach? We all must do our job, work where we work, and stop thinking about keeping such things as a company phone or ratings,” Putin said at his annual press conference on Thursday.
“I am not bored, don’t you worry about it,” he told the reporter who suggested that the immense gap in popularity between Putin and other Russian politicians must make the president feel lonely and the whole situation look dull.
Putin added that when politicians start thinking primarily about their ratings they begin to slide “because this is some sort of profanation, not real work.”
“So far, this style of work has never let me down. I hope to maintain it in the future and I hope that it would continue to yield positive results,” the president said. “This is not for making some remarks on paper, this is for the country and the people, to make everything better.”
The comment came on the same day the Associated Press together the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released the results of the latest poll showing about 80 percent of Russians still supported Putin and his policies. A similar poll conducted in 2012 showed that Putin enjoyed the support of 58% of the Russian population.
The poll was conducted in late November and early December when Russian ruble was already in decline. Researchers said the public did not see Putin as the reason for their everyday problems, but as the solution. Russians favored Putin’s hardline foreign policy, his methods of managing the economy, and efforts aimed at strengthening the military.
Earlier this week an independent Russian pollster Public Opinion Foundation released the results of a poll in which 68 percent of Russians said they considered Putin worthy of the ‘Man of the year’ title. The responders were asked to choose among active Russian politicians.
Other pollsters and think tanks also recorded a surge in Putin’s popularity this year.
The results of the FOM research show another rise in Vladimir Putin’s approval rating, which saw record highs this year.
However, in early December, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that in his opinion Putin did not need any publicity, bad or good, and the people’s love for Putin was a manifestation of their love for Russia.
