Bettel popularity sags after plagiarism scandal
Prime Minister Xavier Bettel saw his popularity drop by seven percentage points in a survey of Luxembourgish voters after news he had largely plagiarised his university thesis came out on the back of an investigation by the investigative news website Reporter.
Health Minister Paulette Lenert of the social democrats, who rose to prominence during the pandemic, remained Luxembourg's most popular politician, according to a survey of 1,016 voters carried out between 2 and 10 November, followed by Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Asselborn of the same party.
And despite his recent drop, Bettel of the Democratic Party pro-business liberals, still came in third place, according to a recent survey.
Lenert's rating, taking into account both 'approval' and 'skills', stands almost unshaken at the top at 86%, down three percentage points compared to the same poll in June. Asselborn is in second place, with 77%, down four percentage points, and Bettel with 71%.
The fourth spot is shared by social-democrat Romain Schneider of the social democrats LSAP, at 59%, who is agriculture and social security minister, and opposition lawmaker Sven Clement of the Pirate Party, whose approval increased by three percentage points compared to June.
The second most liked opposition politician is CSV Christian Democrat lawmaker and party president Claude Wiseler, whose overall approval dropped by nine percentage points to 48%, as his party is mired in internal feuds and court cases around former party president Frank Engel.
The Greens' politicians, one of the parties in the three-way coalition, are nowhere to be seen at the top, with Justice Minister Sam Tanson at 46% and deputy Prime Minister François Bausch at 42%, broadly in line with the poll results from earlier this year.
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