The public's overall opinion of the Premier has jumped by nearly five percent in the last two months ? while the number of people satisfied with the direction in which the country is heading has also increased.

And while Alex Scott?s job handling rating improved markedly from March through to May after reaching a crisis point just after the new year, the poll for June and July saw this particular rating remain virtually flat at 42.4 percent of the 403 people questioned.

These were the principle findings of the Research Innovation telephone poll of 403 people between July 21 and 24, which by and large contains little in the way of surprises.

Mr. Scott continues to command significant support among the Island?s young, with 65.5 percent of those polled between the ages of 18 and 35 reportedly viewing Mr. Scott in a favourable light.

The Premier?s support remains strong among the black population, with 71.1 percent of all blacks polled expressing satisfaction with him.

His desire, expressed on coming to power in 2003, to forge a better relationship with the white community continues not to be reflected in poll numbers, however, with more than 50 percent of whites questioned unconvinced about him.

Yet again, lower income groups tend to favour Mr. Scott more than the wealthy ? although even in the top income bracket of over $100,000, opinion of the Premier is fairly evenly split with 48.4 percent for and 43.8 percent against.

According to the poll, however, the more people earn, the less they like him.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons? approval figures have climbed from 43.2 to just under 47 percent, with Bermuda?s older generations ? 55 years of age or over ? continuing to be a key area of support. Among younger people, opinion remains firmly split.

However, while Dr. Gibbons scored well at the last time of asking among low-income groups, with a 55.2 percent approval rating, that figure has taken a significant hit over the last two months, with only 30.2 percent of those earning less than $50,000 a year now registering their contentment with him.

Dr. Gibbons remains much more popular among women than men (52.1 percent of women polled said they favoured him compared to only 37.2 percent of men) while his rating among blacks has fallen yet further from 28 percent to 22.5 percent.

The overwhelming majority of whites ? 70.5 percent ? voiced their support for the Opposition Leader.

Elsewhere, the culture of pessimism surrounding Bermuda?s future prospects looks to have been somewhat eroded, with the number of people polled dissatisfied with ?the way things are going? at this time having dropped below 50 percent for the first time since November last year.

Those most unhappy with the situation remain among the older generations, with 62.1 percent of those asked over 55 expressing their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs on the Island.