Indicators of social mood used in our research include evaluations of and forecasts for Poland’s economy and politics, respondents’ workplaces and their own household finances. Quarterly findings are presented in the context of the three preceding months, so that patterns of change in mood can be discerned with greater clarity.

In the third quarter, as in the second, evaluations of the private sphere were decidedly better than the public. Politics were still at the bottom, although criticism expressed in this regard over the last three months was smaller than in May and June. The state of Poland’s economy in the last quarter continued to be seen as minimally better than in June, although the mean remained only slightly over zero. When it came to respondents’ workplaces and household finances, however, positive evaluations decidedly outnumbered negative ones. Nevertheless, although the situation in respondents’ workplaces was seen to be relatively stable over the last six months, assessment of their household finances, after a dropping in May and June, returned to a record high in the third quarter.

Forecasts concerning the political situation in the country continued to be less frequently optimistic than pessimistic and, despite certain fluctuations, remained fairly stable. Forecasts for the economy were more favourable, though with slightly greater fluctuations. Even better, and somewhat more stable, were the forecasts for respondents’ workplaces and for the condition of their household finances.