War with Turkey seen less likely

CYPRIOTS are feeling generally more upbeat about the future, according to a social attitudes study by the Cyprus College Centre of Applied Research.

The survey shows that fewer people feel war with Turkey, a major environmental disaster or trouble with the foreign workforce on the island are likely.

Just under half of the 600 people questioned between July and August this year said they thought war with the Turks was likely – compared to 59 per cent of those polled in a similar survey in 1995. Only 27 per cent, compared to 57 per cent in 1995, thought a major environmental disaster was on the horizon. And just under a third, compared to 59 per cent in 1995, considered clashes or trouble with foreign workers likely.

Most Cypriots are also confident they live in a safe society. As in previous years, only one in four felt at risk from burglars or other criminals.

But faith in the police force is dropping. In the 1995 survey, 61 per cent of those polled said the force was “good” or “very good”, but this proportion fell to 51 per cent in the 1997 survey.

Of other public institutions, the Church proved the most popular – with 78 per cent saying it was “good” or “very good”. The civil service was the least popular with a score of just 27 per cent.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.