Singaporeans feel hopeful, confident about Lawrence Wong taking over as the PM of Singapore

Most people consider him competent, especially GenZ members of the population

Following the news of Singapore’s current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stepping down and handing over the responsibility to Lawrence Wong, YouGov’s latest survey shows that most Singaporeans have positively received this update.

Upon hearing this news, one in five Singaporeans said they feel ‘hopeful’ (20%) while one in eight feel ‘confident’ (13%). A similar proportion feels ‘happy’ (12%) although one in ten were surprised to hear the news (9%).

Feeling of confidence is highest among Baby Boomers (at 18%). On the other hand, GenZ and millennials were more likely than others to express surprise at this development.

A considerable proportion of Singaporeans had no reaction to this news (36%). This response was higher among millennials than the rest of the population (at 40%).

In general, Singaporeans have high expectation from the incoming Prime Minister, with 38% saying they have ‘a lot of expectation’ from him.

Notably, the youngest adults- GenZ as well as the older Baby Boomers were slightly more likely than others to have higher expectations from the new PM (at 41% and 43% respectively).

In terms of character traits and personality, most Singaporeans consider Lawrence Wong competent (53%).

Two in five Singaporeans feel he is trustworthy (40%), while many others associate qualities such as likeable (37%), honest (28%) and a strong leader (28%) with him.

While men and women are equally likely to associate all the listed traits with Wong, the youngest members of the population seem to have a positive perception of him and are more likely than others to attribute all the qualities to him.

Methodology

YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in Singapore with a sample size of 1025. The survey was conducted online between April 18 and 20, 2024, and uses a nationally representative sample. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.