THE NAYS have increased while the ayes have stood firm as Jamaicans again respond to the question of whether the 'Chief Servant' is doing a good job as prime minister.

The most recent Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll has found that Bruce Golding's approval rating mirrors what he received in June last year.

Johnson found that Golding now has a 47 per cent approval rating, slightly down from 48 per cent last year. But that is within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus three per cent.

"In spite of the turbulent times Jamaica has been experiencing since the last survey, the PM's approval rating has remained solid," Johnson said.

The poll was conducted on August 8, 9, 14 and 15 among 1,008 residents who were asked if they approved or disapproved of the job that Golding was doing as prime minister.

And while the poll found the number of persons who thought Golding was doing a good job was almost constant, the number of persons who were not satisfied with his performance has increased since last year.

Johnson and his team found that 38 per cent of Jamaicans did not think Golding was doing a good job as prime minister. This represents a seven percentage points increase over the 31 per cent that gave him the thumbs-down last year.

Golding came to power in September 2007 following the Jamaica Labour Party's close win over the People's National Party (PNP), which had held state power since 1989.

His administration has had to battle rising crime, natural disasters and a recession, which has crippled economies across the world while wiping out major chunks of Jamaica's foreign-exchange earnings.

worst in history

But that has not caused the Opposition to relax its grading system. According to the PNP, Golding's government has been the worst in Jamaica's history since Independence.

"This is the worst administration I have seen after two years in any government. Edward Seaga became unpopular very quickly, but Bruce now has broken that record," Robert Pickersgill, PNP chairman, told The Sunday Gleaner.

According to Pickersgill, while the Golding administration has been faced with many challenges, the prime minister has failed to demonstrate that he is a good manager.

But even as the PNP throws darts at Golding, the latest Johnson polls show that its leader is failing to capitalise on any missteps of the Government.

PNP President Portia Simpson Miller, once Jamaica's most popular politician with a 78 per cent approval rating, has seen her numbers continue to decline.

Simpson Miller's favourability rating has slipped from 52 per cent in June last year to 47 per cent in the latest survey.

At the same time, the number of Jamaicans who have an unfavourable opinion of Simpson Miller has increased from 30 per cent in June last year to 38 per cent.

"She has done nothing positive as opposition leader," political commentator Kevin O'Brien Chang argued.

He added: "She clearly has been losing ground in public perception. She has fought the dual-citizenship cases, and the party has been rejected by the people, and she has criticised government policies, but has not put forward any real solutions."

Chang has found common ground with Peter Townsend, chairman of the National Democratic Movement, who said Simpson Miller's "limitation has been shown up in Opposition".

Townsend told The Sunday Gleaner that while Simpson Miller might be more likeable than Golding, "many would perceive that he is better able to manage".

In fact, 37 per cent of the respondents said Simpson Miller was doing a bad job as opposition leader.

However, 44 per cent said they were satisfied with her performance, and 19 per cent said they were not sure.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com