What do austerity- and recession-hit Greeks want? Apparently left-wing SYRIZA in the government but with conservative Antonis Samaras as Prime Minister. This weird preference is the result of the latest public opinion survey that gives SYRIZA 29.5% in the respondents’ choice.
According to Public Issue survey:
SYRIZA 29.5%
Nea Dimocratia 28.5%
Golden Dawn 10% (11.5% in February 2013)
Independent Greeks 8% – PASOK 7.5% – Democratic Left 6% – KKE 5.5%
39% of respondent consider the three-party government (ND, PASOK, DEMLeft) as most suitable to deal with the country’s problems.
25% consider SYRIZA as most suitable.
Antonis Samaras receives 44% to the question “who is most suitable for prime minister)
Alexis Tsipras receives 27%
59% of the respondents consider the “euro” as positive. Last month it was 70%.
38% consider the euro as negative.
50% has negative opinion about the “European Union” and 48% has positive.
59% say “Greece should keep negotiating with its lenders and pay back a smaller part of its debt”
29% say “Greece should not pay back its debt and stop paying its lenders.” (opinion was supported at 7% in September 2012).
source via Protothema
PS We have seen also in the past that survey respondents give highest rates to main opposition party and the acting prime minister. I remember it from times when respondents were picking PASOK and Kostas Karamanlis as most suitable PM. At the end, should the opposition win the elections, the governing party goes together with its prime minister. No matter how ‘suitable’ he was. An acting prime minister has just more points when compared to somebody who has not taken up this role yet.