April Internal Affairs Satisfaction Poll Results and Analysis






April 2019 Internal Affairs Satisfaction Poll Results and Analysis
An Interesting Turnout

Written by Siphlygon








With the first-ever First Minister term coming to a close only 12 days from now, the EBC ran a poll to determine the impact of the domestic executive branch. Europeians were asked to describe their approval/disapproval rating of the FM and DFM, of the various ministries and ministers, and of the Executive as a whole. Even with a low turnout of 15 responses, the poll produced several surprising results from the participants. Without further ado, here they are:

The Upper Executive


The Executive as a whole scored approval from 60% of respondents, a relatively low percentage, with a further 13.3% being neutral on the matter and the last 26.7% showing disapproval. Compared with the latest Executive satisfaction poll, which took place in January and before the Executive Split, we see a clear difference in the statistics. While taking account that January's midterm poll had over twice the number of responses, the overall approval rate has reduced from 72.2% (a 12.2% decrease) and the overall disapproval rate has increased by 18.4%. These changes could be explained as a reaction to the inaugural term following the Executive split - many previously overlooked or unknown issues have arisen, debates and arguments have been held, and the system hasn't been perfected yet. Surprisingly though, again using January's statistics, strong approval has risen by 11.1% in this term and neutrality has decreased by 6.1%. It appears that, for whatever reason, the Executive Split has polarised the views of the public and many more citizens have their own view on how well the Executive is performing.

With a 66.6% approval rate, First Minister Rand scored higher approval than the Executive as a whole. It is clear that this term has been an eventful one for the first minister. Quite historically, during this time, the Ministry of Employment was created with aims to refine the hierarchies of other ministries. Neither could one forget Rand's inaugural speech, the so-called "Thread of Doom", which caused much controversy and debate between the Senate and the Executive. Despite all these events, the FM still enjoys a solid approval rate and maintains a good reputation in the eyes of most respondents. This could mean he has a solid chance of serving another term in office should he run in the First Minister elections coming up.

With the highest disapproval rate in the entire poll, Deputy First Minister GraVandius only scores 26.7% approval from respondents. A further 20% responded with neutral, and a whopping 53.3% express disapproval with GraV, including the highest number of "Strong Disapprove" responses on this poll. GraV himself stated recently that he had "increased RL activities" which caused a significant barrier on the effort he could pour into his role. Coupled with a lack of outfacing duties, the public has not seen much of the deputy first minister and it has been reflected in these results. However, there is also the question of the role of DFM itself. With the Deputy Devolution Amendment marching through the Senate, it is clear that many people have noticed issues with the workload of the DFM and DCoS, despite opposition from GraV himself. It is possible that such opinions on the role of DFM may have factored into the huge disapproval rates shown here.

The Ministers
We see a fairly even spread of approval for the Minister of Interior Cool Spring. He enjoys a small majority approval rate of 53.4%, a disapproval rate of 26.7% with no respondents choosing the "Strong Disapprove" option. This itself is quite surprising - the Ministry of Interior has been breaking record numbers recently and performing exceedingly well in approval as shown later in this post. This surge of approval apparently does not expand to its minister and the two results are quite different in comparison. One can only vaguely speculate the reasoning for this.

A surprising result is given to the Former Minister of Communications Vinage Vinage. He scores a minority approval rate of 33.3% and a slightly higher disapproval rate of 40%. As mentioned in his resignation, real-life issues and barriers effectively barred him from performing as well as he would have liked, starting within the first few weeks of the term. He mentioned that he "shied away from people", and it is a possibility that these unfortunate circumstances translated into a low approval rate and high disapproval and neutrality rate.

Minister of Culture Lloenflys boasts one of the highest approval rates of all the Ministers, with only one person polling any disapproval with him. He scored approval from 93.3% of respondents with a further 33.3% responding with "Strongly Approve". Under his leadership, the Ministry of Culture has peaked this term, expanding and developing the culture of Europeia. It would be short-sighted though to attribute these figures only to the MoCu's success - Lloenflys has also maintained a strong presence on the Discord platform as well as maintaining a thoughtful and composed manner in the Senate. It is clear the public holds this minister in high regards.

It is no shock to say that the Minister of Radio Pichtonia is awarded a 100% approval rating by the respondents. He is responsible for an active Ministry of Radio this term, with footage covering election results, Q&A sessions with members of the executive, interviews with potential candidates for elections and even more laid back shows, including tributes and a new history series. Pichtonia has also put in a lot of work himself, hosting 10 shows personally up to the publication of this post. Such an effort seems to have paid off in his approval rating.

The newly confirmed Minister of Employment Whitmark has an expected even spread of results. He sees a 40% approval rating matched off against a small 33.3% disapproval rating. Similar to the results for the Ministry of Employment, Whitmark sees a high neutrality rating. As the Ministry of Employment has no public-facing projects to date, and the minister is new to his role, a portion of respondents may consider him unproven and put a neutral result. Apart from being the Minister of Employment, Whitmark is also notable for being the Senior Deputy Minister of Recruitment and the Senior Deputy Councilor of Foreign Affairs. It is possible that respondents may have used their thoughts on his performance in these positions in their response.

Few respondents polled disapproval with the Minister of Justice Drecq. He boasts a strong approval rating of 66.7%, including a powerful volume of "Strongly Approve" answers. Drecq has been diligent in his responsibility of posting Legislative Assessments for the Executive, as well as providing legal advice to them whenever it is sought. Moreover, he has long served in the Ministry of Justice, possessing a strong record of reliability in his role. Moreover, it is possible that his strong views in the aforementioned "Thread of Doom" have earned him the heart of many Europeans, as well as their approval.

The Ministries
Contrasting with the results of its minister, the Ministry of Interior has a very solid approval rating of 86.6%. It is probable that the record-breaking numbers being achieved regularly in this term by the MoI's Recruiters have influenced public opinion about the ministry itself. Moreover, the revival of the Discord Buddy programme under Deputy Minister Prim has been another feather in the cap for the ministry. Comparing this highly positive result to minister Cool Spring's personal result could suggest that the latter is a representation of character rather than the impact of his performance upon the Ministry of Interior.

The Ministry of Communications similarly boasts a strong approval rating of 80% and a much smaller disproval rating of 20%. The poll closed before the concerns about Acting Minister recombis were raised in the Grand Hall -- the results of which have since been covered -- so the effect of recent opinions about the EBC was not reflected in the results of the poll. Regardless of questions about the volume of articles being published, public favour is still high for the ministry and - similar to the Ministry of Interior's results - contrast the former minister Vinage Vinage's personal results.

Keeping up the trend of strong approval ratings for the ministries, the Ministry of Culture ties with the Ministry of Interior for an approval rating of 86.7%. The ministry has been busy this term, creating content such as the Weekly Random Roleplay (which has brought a lot of interaction from the roleplayers of Europeia), the Becoming Cultured series and a trial run on the quiz game "Where in the World is Min Cult Lloenflys?". Huge and popular events were also held this term, including WA Delegate Aexindaral's Ovation and the Founder's Day Event (Europeia's 12th birthday). Coupled with the huge popularity of its minister Lloenflys, solid numbers were expected and delivered by the ministry this term.

No surprise of the numbers presented here. The Ministry of Radio claims a top approval rate of 86.7%, along with the most "Strongly Approve" responses of all the ministries. The ministry can also boast a 0% disapproval rating. These numbers actually reflect the results for the minister Pichtonia's personal ratings with a high approval rating and no disapproval noted. While continuing with standard Q&As and interviews, the MoR has also started expanding into other types of broadcasts. The popular Goldenblock series, hosted by Founder HEM, recounts the history of Europeia straight from the beginning and more casual programmes such as Mad Rants have been announced. This has been a great term for the Ministry of Radio and the respondents approve mightily of its performance.

The Ministry of Justice enjoys a solid approval rate of 66.6%, even if it is lower than the majority of ministries. Half of those who approve of the Ministry chose the "Strong Approve" option, the highest behind the Ministry of Radio. Few respondents lodged any concerns about the ministry, with the rest comprising a neutrality rate of 20%. The ministry almost exactly mirrors the personal results of its minister Drecq; the only difference being that respondents polled higher for "Strongly Approve" in the case of Drecq. This ministry has been performing steadily throughout the term, with careful legislative assessments being produced regularly and even catching out inconsistencies with Senate legislation. The Law Clerk programme has been running smoothly, with a slow and steady intake of new clerks.

We see a peculiar result for the Ministry of Employment compared with all the other ministries. First off, the approval rate and disapproval rate are exactly the same at a small 26.6%. However, the most defining result is the incredibly large neutrality rate of 46.7% - the highest seen throughout the entire poll. This result could be attributed to the lack of public-facing projects the Ministry of Employment has had this term - the ministry's first project was revising the internal hierarchies of the Ministries/Councilors, while the second (the creation of "Employment Central") has - at the time of the poll closing - not yet been inaugurated. Compounded with being the first term for the ministry itself, it is possible that most respondents simply did not know what work the ministry has been doing or should be doing, and so put their response down as neutral.

Who would you like to see run for the First Minister in the upcoming elections?

Respondents were requested to write in who they would like to see running for First Minister in the upcoming elections. The results were as follows:

Lloenflys - 4
Pichto - 4
Rand - 4
Whitmark - 4

At the top of the responses, we see four strong potential candidates for the First Minister election, should they wish to run. Rand, the current First Minister, is included in this list and is still seen as a popular choice by the public. However, some new names also float around - Minister of Culture and 2-time-Senator Lloenflys, who himself said he will not run for First Minister in the latest radio broadcast covering potential runners in the elections. Minister of Radio Pichtonia graces this list and also enjoys the highest approval rating in this poll, making him a fierce potential FM. Lastly, we see Minister of Employment Whitmark who, despite a middling approval rating, somehow manages to join this list.

HEM - 3
Winged Bear - 3

On a slightly lower tier, we see two heavyweights enjoying a good amount of encouragement from the respondents. Founder HEM still remains an ever-popular choice among the responses, though this author would question whether he'd run in the elections as he has stepped away from leadership roles recently. We also see Senator and former CA Chair Winged Bear on this, who enjoys renown for his strong legislative skills and public approval. These two individuals could stand a fair chance at an election should they wish to occupy the Office.

CSP - 2
JayDee - 2
Recombis - 2

The next list features three candidates who, though not on par with the others who were previously listed in terms of nomination, are still distinguished for being mentioned several times. A notable member on the list is Senate Speaker and Grand Admiral CSP, a strong forerunner in the previous Senate election. Joining CSP are Former Senator JayDee and Acting Minister of Communications recombis. Though perhaps not the likely forerunners for an election, it is still possible for these nominees to gain the votes of the electorate.

Aex - 1
Astrellan - 1
Darcness - 1
Deepest House - 1
DictatorAnna10 - 1
Drecq - 1
Hezekon - 1
Izzy - 1
Kuramia - 1
Prim - 1

And finally, we see a long list of people who were mentioned once by respondents. The findings of this poll do not place a strong chance of these people grabbing the role of First Minister, but anything could change in the heat of an election.

There was also a single mention of "anyone but Rand". The author, while thinking it humorous, has not included it here.

In conclusion, this term has seen spikes of approval for certain ministries and ministers, but much less so for others. Rand, should he wish to run, could be a popular choice for the next election but it'd be foolhardy to say it would be a wipeout. Many other individuals have enjoyed high approval and high encouragement to run in 11 days time. Personally, this author cannot wait to see what happens in the midst of the election.
 
Well if a forum post wasn't made, no wonder response was not great.

EDIT: Let me expand further. Discord pings and profile posts aren't going to be an effective way to reach out to an audience over a long-term period of time by themselves; if they were joined with a GH thread, your turnout would be much better. GH threads are checked and not easy to forget about relative to Discord pings (very easy to miss) and profile posts (because how many people actually read people's profile posts?).
 
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