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| Interpreting their parents' concerns. Photo © Curt Carnemark / World Bank | |
Polls matter to political leaders because they reflect public sentiment about what is important and what is not. They are no crystal ball, however, and can be interpreted and acted upon in very different ways. President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, who will step down later this month, used polling data in his first term to justify a decisive break with past policies. It is an interesting example for the WDR team as we look at how leaders in conflict-affected states prioritize policy actions and the extent to which they do so by listening to the people.
By 2002, after years of zero growth and declining living standards, Colombia's institutions were under increasing pressure from the narco-clans, the militia and the FARC.
With presidential elections in the offing, polls showed the country was almost equally divided between those who wanted more focus on social programming and poverty alleviation and those who thought the government needed to get tough and crack down on violence.