Political discontent strongest in Savaneta and among 55–64-year-olds

ORANJESTAD – Noticiacla’s political survey shows a broadly critical mood toward Aruba’s current direction. Of 407 respondents answering the question, 73.7% said Aruba is not heading in the right direction, compared with just 18.7% who believe it is.

The overall assessment of the political situation follows the same pattern. 67.8% rate it as “bad” or “very bad,” while only 8.8% describe it as good or very good.

Regarding the AVP–FUTURO Cabinet, 68.3% are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. Nearly three out of four respondents — 74.8% — say the government is performing below or far below their expectations.

The appetite for change is particularly striking. When asked what they would prefer today, 49.6% chose a change of government, while another 27.8% preferred a different coalition. Only 17.2% favored continuity with the current government.

Yet dissatisfaction with government does not automatically translate into complete confidence in the opposition. While 46.1% say they trust the opposition more to manage Aruba’s future, only 30.1% believe the opposition is “definitely” a credible alternative. Another 20.8% say “more or less,” while 33% say it is not.

By age, criticism is especially strong among respondents aged 55–64. In this group, 78.2% say Aruba is moving in the wrong direction, 71.6% are dissatisfied with the government and 80.6% believe it has performed below expectations.

Among those 65 and older, 76.1% say the country is heading in the wrong direction and 67.1% are dissatisfied with the government.

The 45–54 age group is somewhat less negative on certain measures, although 66.7% still say the country is on the wrong track and 73.8% believe the government is performing below expectations.

Geographically, Savaneta stands out as the district showing the strongest signs of dissatisfaction. There, 81.6% say Aruba is not heading in the right direction and 86.8% say government performance has fallen below their expectations.

Noord follows with 78% saying Aruba is moving in the wrong direction, followed by Santa Cruz at 76.3%, Paradera at 75.3%, San Nicolas at 71.9% and Oranjestad at 65%.

Santa Cruz records the highest direct dissatisfaction with the Cabinet at 76.3%, followed by Paradera at 71.4%, Savaneta at 69.2% and Noord at 67.9%.

Another significant finding is that the opposition receives more trust than the current government in all six districts represented in the survey. But the gap between “trusting the opposition” and viewing it as a “credible alternative” matters: voters may want change without yet being fully convinced by the alternative.

The survey therefore portrays an electorate that is more dissatisfied with the government than enthusiastic about the opposition. The strongest message appears to be a demand for a change in direction, rather than simply support for another party.

In voting intention, MEP leads this particular sample at 44.6%, followed by 17.1% who remain undecided. AVP stands at 9%, FUTURO at 5.6% and PPA at 4.1%. These figures, however, should not be treated as an election forecast because the survey is not a random population sample and participation is heavily concentrated among older age groups.