Greek government’s popularity takes a hit as talks drag on
The leftist-led Greek government is rapidly losing popularity as negotiations with international creditors drag on with little hope of a resolution anytime soon, a poll conducted by the University of Macedonia and presented on Skai television on Monday night has found.
The approval rating for the strategy being employed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has plummeted to 45.5 percent from an impressive 72 percent in March, the study revealed, with 39.5 percent of the poll’s 1,007 respondents saying they disagree with the government’s negotiating tactics.
Pollsters also gave respondents the opportunity to grade the government’s performance in key areas on a scale of 0-10. The SYRIZA-led administration scored 4.6/10 on the economy, 3/10 on immigration, 3.7/10 on crime-fighting and security, 4.2/10 on education, 5.5/10 on foreign policy and defense, 4.5/10 on public administration and 4.4/10 on health.
Asked whether they believe the government is committed to implementing its pre-election promises, 52.5 percent responded “yes” and 42 percent “no,” while on the issue of their household finances, 35.5 percent said they expect no significant changes over the next 12 months, 26.5 percent expect things to get worse and 15 percent are certain they will deteriorate further. Just 3 percent said they are confident of an improvement in their personal prospects.
The poll also revealed that the majority of Greeks do not want to see the country pushed out of the euro area.
Asked how they feel about the possibility of a so-called “Grexit,” 56 percent responded “fear,” compared with 45.5 percent in March, and 23 percent said they are indifferent, compared with 26.5 percent previously. Only 9 percent said they consider there is no chance of this happening, compared with 17 percent in March.
