Galery

1

Anastasia Balezdrova

Despite the apparent calmness the turmoil in the ruling party in Greece continue in the echo of the failed attempt of making a government of national consensus. Yesterday, one of the PASOK speakers for the mid-term recovery plan for the Greek economy resigned and at least one of the deputies will certainly not vote for it.

Meanwhile, the European pressure on the leader of the main opposition party Antonis Samaras for consensus is growing constantly, although he said in his speech in Parliament last night that he could not consent to the continuation of the wrong government policy.

On the other hand, public discontent, the main reason for it being the growing uncertainty, is intensifying. So, opinion polls were held by the relevant agencies to find out how the people accepted the government reshuffle, and the response from the position of New Democracy.

GRReporter contacted the manager of the agency ALCO Costas Panagopoulos, who commented on for the readers the major changes in the Greek public opinion.

Mr. Panagopoulos, do you anticipate elections in the autumn like many countries do?

Based on today's conditions, I would respond positively. And because it is clear that there is a lack of manageability, if I may say so. There should be a change in the political climate until September, some hope for positive development in order not to have elections. This all depends on the government. If it continues to act like today, it would be very difficult to avoid elections in my opinion.

You conducted a few days ago an opinion poll after the government reshuffle and the failed attempt of reaching an agreement between PASOK and New Democracy.

The poll very clearly shows the vast distance between the society and the political system in general and between the society and the reporting government in particular. The vast majority, I would say almost all respondents, said they are disappointed. Accordingly, they do not have any expectations and hopes for something better. This makes them express their disapproval. This is evident from the fact that one in four respondents said that he would not take part in the next elections or would vote with the white ballot. In particular, with regard to government performance, the low rate of approval is indicative of the dissatisfaction. For the first time in four years, New Democracy takes the lead in the citizens’ choice in an ALCO survey. Moreover, for the first time in many years the agency recorded so high percentage – 43% - of people who support the elections compared with 32% who say they are not necessary. This is a turnaround for the Greek reality. The citizens did not support early elections before the expiry of the mandate of a government, especially in recent years. Given the today's economic conditions, one would think that there should not be a request for early elections. But here it is.

The poll’s results concerning the electoral preferences of the discontented citizens are very interesting.

The most interesting fact is that 30% of the discontented said they do not want to answer, or will use the white ballot or will not vote. 42% support the small parties and this result is extremely impressive. The two major parties share 30% of the results. 18% of the discontented said they would vote for New Democracy and 12% for PASOK. These people either reject the political system as a whole or are part of the two major parties. The critical issue is whether those voters would go to vote on the election day or not. This is the first thing that should be taken into account to see if their present focus on the smaller parties will confirm in the election results or not.

What is the social profile of the discontented?

I would like to say that a group of such disparate people was formed for many years. In terms of sex, they are men mostly, but it is also associated with the social mores in Greece. In terms of age, most of them are under 45 years old and the majority is between 25 and 44 years old. Virtually all professions are presented and then in proportions which are very close to the actual ones for the general population. An interesting fact is that the same applies to their level of education.

For all these data, the discontented look like real mirror image of the Greek society in terms of their composition. In terms of their political choice, the fact is that most of them are supporters of smaller parties outside the two major ones.

How did the citizens respond to the political events from the past week?

I would say that the feeling the survey reports concerning the new composition of the government is especially optimistic. The majority of participants believe that it will not be more successful than the previous. Only 25% of the people believe that the new team will achieve better results. This is the biggest challenge for new government: to prove that it is able to respond more quickly and efficiently than the previous. If this happens, there could be expectations and changes in the data. If not - it is clear that we will continue the same way.

How did the respondents define the position of New Democracy during the three "hot" days?

A vast majority of the voters of New Democracy, around 80%, approve the position of Antonis Samaras. 40% of the respondents considered the move of the leader of New Democracy to set specific conditions for reaching an agreement as correct and another 48% described it as wrong. But asked who the ultimate culprit for the failed attempt for cooperation between the two parties is most of the participants responded that it was the Prime Minister George Papandreou and fewer that this was Antonis Samaras.
 
What I think is extremely important is that most respondents answered negatively the question whether a government of PASOK and New Democracy with a Prime Minister supported by the two parties could solve the problems of Greek society. Personally I think this is a logical response. It would be ridiculous to consider that the two parties, which according to the majority of Greeks took the country to the current situation, could provide solutions to the problems, if they work together.

Do you think the positive responses for his position and the lead which the poll gives New Democracy would strengthen Antonis Samaras’ conviction to follow the same policy, despite the criticism and pressure by politicians and media in Western Europe?

I think that New Democracy has already decided on its strategy irregardless of these results. It was expressed so many times and so clearly that I do not think it would be reasonable to expect any change.

And in his yesterday's speech in Parliament, Antonis Samaras stated again quite clearly that he does not consent to the wrong policy. This will not be changed. Anyway, when he expressed his position for the first time the polls were not in his favour. Now we have this change, but we should not attach more importance it than necessary. I.e. could you be excited that your party is supported by 21% of the voters, even if it is the first in their choice? Therefore, this is not the question. I think this is a strategy that New Democracy has adopted and will continue it to the end. Furthermore, I do not see any reason to change it.

Do you think the discontented will stay on the square after the big protests planned for the day of voting on the mid-term plan by the Parliament?

I think it is natural and logical that this circle be closed at some point, even for "technical" reasons. It is because the summer is coming and temperatures will rise.

But the circle will close when it has seriously affected the political system. Deputies have resigned since the movement of the discontented appeared and all parties always seek to rely on the square in their speeches. It is worth tracking how many times the political leaders mentioned the square last night. This is very impressive.

The question is what will happen from now on. Whether this movement will develop in some way and whether and under what conditions it will appear again in the autumn. But even that depends on government actions by that time.