The approval rating of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has hit its lowest point since she took office, according to a new University of Hong Kong poll, prompting renewed pledges of “humility” on the part of Lam at a question and answer session at the Legislative Council today.
Lam has come under intense fire in recent weeks for her handling of two social welfare issues: the first, a contentious change to the eligibility requirements for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance benefits; and the second, the government’s perceived mismanagement of a cash handout scheme.
In HKU’s telephone poll of 1,000 respondents, released Tuesday, 52 percent expressed disapproval of Lam’s performance, with only 32 percent approving, for a so-called “support rating” of 45.5. That figure constituted a nearly 11 percent drop from the previous polling period, and a 28 percent drop from a personal high of 63.6 when Lam took office.
The drop provided ample fodder for pro-democracy lawmaker Raymond Chan Chi-chuen, who brought up the numbers at today’s Q&A with Lam at the LegCo today, asking if and when she pledged to honor a campaign promise to step down if she lost the public’s support.
“When are you going to resign?” Chan asked at today’s session. “How far should the popularity rating be dropped before you honor your election pledge?”
Responding, Lam conceded that there was “room for reflection, and definitely there is room for improvement,” and that as chief executive she was “ultimately responsible.”
“We’ll continue to exercise humility,” she added.
When pressed on whether she planned to resign, however, Lam responded, albeit obliquely, that she and her colleagues in the government “will continue to uphold the attitude that I mention to tackle the various challenges that we face and to resolve livelihood issues.”
With Tuesday’s drop in numbers, Lam’s approval ratings are drawing ever closer to those of her predecessor CY Leung, whose approval numbers at the end of his tenure were lower than any other Hong Kong chief executive.
Dr Chung Kim-wah, a professor of social policy at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, told Coconuts Hong Kong that Lam’s initially high approval ratings had been felled by a potent combination of widespread dissatisfaction with Hong Kong’s system of governance at large, as well as Lam’s own perceived “personality problems.”
“The way she handled the CSSA cases, the age limit, her response has been quite bad,” Chung said, saying Lam had come across as “arrogant.”
“No matter how the government perceived the problem, she had to convince the electorate to worry less…not necessarily [to] accept the proposal, but at least to make them understand it.”
Chief executives will always face an uphill battle for approval thanks to widespread unhappiness with the way they are selected, Chung noted, but Lam’s ratings benefited early on from her simply being anyone other than CY Leung.
“But now, it seems like nothing basic has been changed,” Chung continued. “I think the expectation has not materialized, and people are starting to have a negative perception of Carrie.”
“I don’t think she has any chance to get back to the initial level (of popularity).”
A representative of the chief executive’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Coconuts HK as of press time.
