Latvia has the lowest level of belief that the interests of its citizens are taken into account by public authorities compared to other Baltic countries, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey published on February 8.
The Eurobarometer survey was carried out between November 1 and December 2, 2021, in all 27 EU Member States. The survey was conducted in person and supplemented by online interviews where necessary due to Covid-19 constraints. A total of 26,510 interviews were conducted and the EU results were weighted according to the size of the population in each country.
When asked "To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement 'My voice counts in my country'", 41% of the Estonian respondents said they agreed, while 49% of the Estonian respondents said their voice does not count in their country's governance.
In Lithuania, only 29% of the population surveyed agreed to the same question, while 65% of Lithuanians believe that their voice does not count in their country's governance.
Latvia has the lowest level of trust in its public administration among the Baltic States. When asked "To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement 'My voice counts in my country'", only 23% of the Latvian respondents said they agreed, while 77% of the Latvian respondents believe that their voice does not count in Latvia.
On average across all EU countries, 58% of the population believe that their voice counts in their country, and only 39% of the population of all EU Member States disagree.
The results of the Eurobarometer survey clearly show that, unlike in most EU Member States where the performance of local authorities during the Covid period is valued positively, an absolute majority of both Lithuanian and Latvian citizens expressed their distrust in the political regimes of their countries and assessed the performance of their governments and ruling political forces during the Covid period as inept and not in the interests of the citizens.