The popularity of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has been boosted in the wake of renewed tension in the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh and other territories occupied by Armenia. In an opinion survey conducted by respected American polling firm Arthur J. Finkelstein & Associates, 96.8% of respondents said they “trust in the President of Azerbaijan,” rating the job done by him as either excellent or good.

Some 96.3% of respondents said “the country’s leadership protects Azerbaijan against Armenian aggressors” and judged the effectiveness of the Azerbaijani military response as either excellent or good.

The level of patriotism among the Azerbaijani people has increased dramatically in the wake of renewed fighting in the region. When asked what is the most important issue facing the country versus the most important issue facing their families, the number one response by an enormous margin for both was Nagorno-Karabakh (81.5% said Nagorno-Karabakh was the number one problem for the country, while 53.6% said it was such for their family).

The majority of Azerbaijanis support the government`s economic reforms, highly appreciate its establishment of social stability in the country, and back foreign policy conducted by the President and the government. The majority of Azerbaijani citizens described the government`s anti-corruption measures as either excellent or good, adding that however progress can still be made.

Almost 100% would be “willing to use all options, including using the military, in order to protect the country against Armenian occupation.”

Some 97.3% of respondents said the recent escalation of tension increased their patriotism.

The President`s and the government`s foreign policy is judged as effective by 84.4% of respondents.

Asked if they believe that the economic reforms conducted in Azerbaijan would decrease the impact of the global crisis on Azerbaijan, 78.1% of respondents said “yes”. Some 91.4% highly assessed social stability in the country.

The survey was conducted among 1,200 voting-age citizens between April 23-29, 2016 in Azerbaijan and has a margin of error +/- 2.8%, and reliability of 85%.

AZERTAC