The largest part of Montenegrin citizens, about 26 percent, claim that the parties and their leaders are the most corrupt among the authorities and other groups in the country, about 24 percent of them say that they are public officials, while slightly less than a fifth say that it is the judicial branch of government. .
This is shown by the results of research by the International Republican Institute (IRI) on socio-political conditions in the Western Balkans, which were published on Tuesday. IRI is a non-profit organization from the US, funded by the US government, and considered close to the Republican Party.
The survey was conducted from February 2 to March 5.
The largest number of respondents in North Macedonia and Kosovo claim that the parties and their leaders are the most mired in corruption - approximately a quarter of them. In Serbia, they estimate that public officials are in the first place in terms of corruption, and parties are second - this is the opinion of a little more than a fifth of the respondents. In Albania, where the majority of respondents claim that the prime minister and his cabinet are the most corrupt, about 10 percent of citizens think that these are the parties after all.
Public officials were rated as the most corrupt group by 26 percent of respondents in Serbia, 19 percent in Albania, ten percent in Kosovo and eight percent in North Macedonia.
23 percent of the citizens of North Macedonia, about a fifth of the citizens of Kosovo, slightly more than a tenth of the citizens of Albania and seven percent of the citizens of Serbia think that the judiciary is the most corrupt.
In Albania, less than one percent of respondents named the president as the most corrupt of all authorities. A similar situation exists in Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia, where one percent of citizens characterized it as such. In Serbia, six percent of respondents answered that the head of state is the most corrupt part of the government.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), due to the specific political system, the offered answers to this question were somewhat different, so about half of their surveyed citizens rated the authorities at the national level as the most corrupt, slightly less than a fifth of the authorities at the entity level, 11 percent at local, and nine percent at cantonal.
In all the countries where the research was conducted, more than four fifths of respondents believe that the situation with corruption is very or somewhat serious.
The results of the survey show that more than 70 percent of the citizens of Kosovo and Albania support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, about a third of the citizens of Montenegro and BiH, slightly less than a fifth of the citizens of North Macedonia, and four percent of the citizens of Serbia share the same opinion. On the other hand, more than half of the citizens of Serbia support Russia in that conflict, in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina it is about a quarter of the citizens, in North Macedonia a little less than a fifth, and six or three percent of the inhabitants of Kosovo and Albania.
Of all the countries in which the research was conducted, only in Serbia did less than half of the respondents say that they would vote for joining the European Union (EU). In other countries, support varies from 68 percent in BiH and North Macedonia to 92 percent in Albania. In Montenegro, nearly four fifths of citizens, or 79 percent of them, declared that they would vote for EU membership.
Respondents in Serbia think the best about Chinese investments, where more than half believe that it brings benefits to both parties. That this claim has the least support in Kosovo, where 21 percent of respondents agree with it. About two-fifths of respondents in Albania, 30 percent in Montenegro, 28 percent in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 24 percent in North Macedonia share this attitude.
In Montenegro, 37 percent of respondents claim that these investments include certain political expectations and conditions, and about a third of citizens in BiH and Serbia, 29 percent in North Macedonia, and a fifth in Kosovo and Albania agree with this.
The results of the IRI survey show that most of the respondents in Montenegro and North Macedonia, about a third of them, believe that Serbia is their country's most important ally, while in BiH about 16 percent of the respondents claim this. Albania and Kosovo trust the United States of America (USA) the most, where 56 and 80 percent of the population see them as the most important ally. About a fifth of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina named Turkey as their most important ally, and in Serbia, slightly less than half of them named Russia.
Less than half of Montenegrin citizens say that full membership in NATO is the best option for the country's future. As an alternative to this answer, slightly more than a fifth said they wanted closer cooperation, but without membership, 17 percent more communication without cooperation, and 16 percent no relations.
Despite this, more than half of the respondents believe that the role of the Alliance in the world is very or somewhat positive, but also that Montenegrin membership is very or somewhat positive for the country.
Serbs are most satisfied with where Montenegro is going
More than half of respondents in Montenegro believe that the country is moving in the right direction.
When looking at the nationality of the respondents, only the majority of Serbs agree with this statement. Namely, 72 percent of respondents who identify themselves as Serbs claim that the country is going the right way.
When it comes to respondents from other nations, 46 percent of Montenegrins, 40 percent of Bosniaks, 38 percent of others and 37 percent of Albanians think that the country is going in the right direction.
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