by Ko Shu-Ling

President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approval ratings and confidence index reached new lows this month, a poll by the Chinese-­language Global Views (遠見) magazine showed yesterday.

The poll, conducted by the Global Views Survey Research Center, put Ma’s popularity at 23.2 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from last month, while his trust index dropped 1.6 percentage points from last month to 36.4 percent.

Ma’s popularity this month touched a new low since the center began the survey on his approval rating in June 2008. It reached its highest point last June when it hit 40.7 percent.

His trust index this month was 36.4 percent, a 1.6 percent decrease.

The pollster said Ma’s popularity and trust index were almost on par with last August when Typhoon Morakot devastated the south, killing hundreds.

Even worse, it said, they showed a worsening trend, creating a crisis of confidence in Ma.

The pollster attributed the phenomenon to the negative impact of locally produced swine flu vaccines and fallout from the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) resounding defeat in the legislative by-elections earlier this month.

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