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Perceptions
of the international arena
On the United States: It is “an enemy,” say 58%
In a poll of 1,300 people conducted over the six Lebanese mohafazas
during the Arab Summit in March 2002, attitudes toward the United States
were gauged, with the majority of respondents (58.4) viewing the country
as an enemy. The remaining responses to the question are illustrated in
Graph 1. However, it is important to note
that in a Zogby International poll, the majority of respondents (63%)
held a favorable view of the American people, but held an unfavorable
view of U.S. government policies (86%). This perception ties in with a
more recent poll that was conducted in October concerning the Wazzani
water crisis, where only 2% of people trusted the U.S. as a mediator,
showing that attitudes toward the U.S. remain negative.
On the question of the best U.S. president regarding Arab issues,
21% of the Lebanese public perceived Bill Clinton to have done the best
job, followed by Jimmy Carter at 12.2%, while more than half of
respondents replied that no American president was good in furthering
Arab issues. President George W. Bush was perceived as the worst by
60.3% of respondents, with Clinton following his lead at 8.2% and George
Bush Sr. trailing behind the two at 7.8%.
Calls for a boycott of American products had taken hold earlier this
year, following the Israeli military incursion into Jenin and 40.2% of
respondents who participated in a boycott said it was to show solidarity
with the Palestinian cause. 36% said the boycott was their way of
showing refusal and discontent with American policies because of their
support for Israel, while 23.7% simply said the U.S. is an enemy that
should be subject to a boycott. Despite such strong indignation, 55.2%
of those respondents did not believe that boycotting American products
would have any effect on American policies, while 32% said change was
possible.
On Israel: 75.6% do not believe normal relations can ever be
established. 12.3% thought it is possible, while only 3.1% strongly
believed that the normalization of relations is a viable prospect. In
fact, the existence of Israel was viewed by the majority of respondents
as the root cause of the Arab world’s problems today. Others lay the
blame on other factors, as shown in Graph 2.
In terms of the boycott, 80.8% of respondents said they would refuse to
buy products made by a company that supports Israel, while 18.5% said
they would be willing to purchase such products.
On the United Nations, 27% of respondents stated that organization’s
performance is bad. 28.8% considered it average, while 26%
considered the organization’s performance to be weak, with only 4.3%
giving it an excellent assessment.
Domestic Issues
On the VAT, 61.2% of those polled reported that the VAT decreased their
purchasing power.
In a poll conducted with both merchants and shoppers during the February
shopping festival, the effects of the VAT were gauged, with effects on
purchasing power shown in Graph 3.
56% of the public report that their family income does not cover their
expenses. On the economy, the majority (76.6%) of the 1,250 people polled
rated the situation in February as bad, while 13.4% said it was weak and only
0.2% said it was excellent. Consequently, 24.5% of respondents noted that the
economic situation should be the government’s top priority, followed by 21.6%
who said decreasing the budget deficit and public debt burden should take
priority, while 21.4% said the government should concentrate on creating jobs.
Waste and corruption was considered the main reason for the country’s dire
economic situation. 38.6% of those polled considered the present government
responsible for the current economic situation in the country, while 20% lay the
blame on the previous government, with 15.5% stating outside factors (see
Graph 4).
• On politics, 84% believe there is real “opposition” in Lebanese politics, but
only 30.2% view it as constructive, while 24.4% think it is negative.
• 40% of those polled say that there is no politician who expresses their
opinions.
• 33% agree with elections on the basis of Lebanon as a single district
(proportional representation).
• On the judiciary, 61% of those polled consider it under the influence of
political pressure, while 25% believe it is partially independent and 12.4%
think it is a totally independent body.
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Behavior and
Attitudes
Even if the public transport system is improved, 61.5% of respondents revealed
that they would not use it, preferring to drive a car instead. This is according
to a poll conducted in Central Beirut with a sample of 150 people in the month
of April. 41.9% of the respondents also said that they own more than one car and
82% said they don’t share their car with others to go to work. Average weekly
consumption of fuel was 56 liters and respondents fill their car an average of
six times per month.
12.5% of university students reported using drugs at least once in a poll
conducted in February with 1085 students in nine universities throughout
Lebanon, including the AUB, LAU and the Lebanese University among others. More
than half of those students (56.6%) said they tried drugs out of curiosity.
Hashish was the drug predominantly experimented with (67.7%), followed by
marijuana (33.8) and cocaine (33.8%), while 7.7% reported taking tranquilizers,
mainly Lexotanil. In addition, university students reported that the average
proportion of drug users in their age group reaches 30%.
Attitudes toward the diesel ban
were largely positive, with 77.9% of respondents agreeing with a ban on cars and
vans that operate on diesel, while 22.1% did not. This was the result of a poll
conducted with 1,350 people in the six mohafazas in July 2002. 74% of those who
approved of the ban cited the reduction in pollution levels as the main reason,
while 69% of those who opposed it said that the ban would increase unemployment
in the country.
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75.5% of Lebanese oppose the
naturalization decree versus 24% who are in favor of it. In addition, a general
consensus was detected against the naturalization of Palestinian refugees
presently in Lebanon, with only 5% supporting such a move. With regard to
foreign ownership, only 35% of respondents supported the idea while 66% were
against it. The majority of those in support regarded it as a positive step in
attracting foreign investors to the country, while those against it said they
feared that it would lead to indirect naturalization.
The majority of the Lebanese public (57.3%) in 2002 did not support civil
marriage, as compared to 18.5% who opposed it in 1997. In a poll conducted with
1,350 people throughout Lebanon in 2002, 37% favored the introduction of civil
marriage, 1.1% were unsure and 57.3% were opposed to it. However, more than half
of younger respondents (between the ages of 15 - 24) supported the alternative.
These figures show that the Lebanese public has adopted a more negative stance
toward the idea of civil marriage than it had a few years earlier. A similar
poll conducted in 1997 showed that only 18.5% of respondents were opposed to
civil marriage, with 34% supporting it and almost 48% who were unsure.
In addition, 52.5% of respondents consider the Lebanese to be sectarian, using
religion for political benefit.
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