85 percent of the Lebanese do not trust their politicians, poll

85 percent of the Lebanese do not trust their politicians, according to an opinion poll by Beirut-based Information International. Although the results do not dispute the prevailing public opinion, but paradoxically contradict the outcome of the last parliamentary elections, which brought back to power the same political class.

According to a survey conducted by the company on a sample of the Lebanese population about their assessment of integrity and ethics levels among people working in different fields, politicians were considered to have the lowest levels. 85 percent of the Lebanese assessed the levels of integrity and ethics among politicians as “low” and “very low.”

MP Paula Yacoubian, the only representative of the civil society in Parliament, and Kataeb MP Elias Hankash, agree that this poll has confirmed that the Lebanese people know very well their politicians, but are still dependent on them for reasons mainly related to their lack of rights.

“The Lebanese are well aware that officials are robbing them and each party is blaming the other,” Yacoubian said, adding that the people were unable to do something about this.

Hankash, for his part, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the contradiction between the views of the Lebanese and the results of the elections was because politicians have stripped people of all the factors of economic and social viability.

“There is no doubt that the Lebanese people are aware of this reality and this opinion poll is the best proof of this; but at the same time, they realize that they can only live with the help of those deputies,” he stated.

The lack of trust is not limited to politicians. Doctors, judges, lawyers, engineers, construction contractors and media professionals were also included in the survey.

In a reading of the results, only 51 percent of Lebanese assess the level of integrity and ethics of doctors with “high – and very high.”

The same applies to lawyers and judges, with only 38% and 23% stating that the level of ethics and integrity of lawyers and judges in Lebanon is “very high and high.”

Only 50 percent of respondents in Lebanon said that engineers had a “very high and high” level of integrity and ethics, compared with just 20 percent for construction contractors.

As for the media, the poll showed that 55% of the respondents assess the level of integrity and ethics in this category in the “medium and low level.”

ASHARQ Al AWSAT