Fewer residents say they are dissatisfied with Hong Kong's political situation since the Legislative Council election this month, a University of Hong Kong poll has found. Academics at the university said the findings reflected an increasingly relaxed political atmosphere between Beijing and Hong Kong, as well as public expectations of new legislators. In a telephone survey of 1,023 residents last week, 47 per cent said they were dissatisfied with the political situation, a drop of 13 percentage points from a similar poll conducted in June. Those expressing dissatisfaction with social conditions also declined, from 45 per cent to 39 per cent, while the number who said they were discontent with economic conditions remained unchanged at 55 per cent. The university's Public Opinion Programme director, Robert Chung Ting-yiu, who conducted the survey, said the economy had replaced politics as the public's main area of concern. 'Although people are dissatisfied with the political condition, the dissatisfaction rate has experienced a drastic drop of 13 percentage points in three months and recovered to that of the end of last year, probably because of the more relaxed political atmosphere,' he said. Relations between Beijing, the government and the pro-democracy camp had eased after the democrats expressed a wish for reconciliation. Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, a City University professor of public administration, said the findings reflected a sense of optimism among the public after 55 per cent of the electorate turned out to vote in the Legco election. 'While the new legislators have yet to prove their worth, the public is happy that most of the people they voted for won seats. The drop in dissatisfaction shows they have expectations of their representatives,' Professor Cheung said.