AN OPINION poll published yesterday provides some comfort for President Tassos Papadopoulos, with a 59 per cent approval rating, despite a string of recent scandals.
The public’s response was generally positive towards the government’s performance and its handling of the Cyprus problem. Out of the 528 men and women asked to give their opinion on how well Papadopoulos was carrying out his duties, 59 per cent gave him the thumbs up, while only 20 per cent gave him a vote of no confidence.
Regarding the government’s policies toward the Cyprus problem, 56 per cent are satisfied, 28 per cent do not think the President’s policies are sufficient to reach a solution, and 16 per cent are undecided.
However, reflecting recent scandals, the public’s opinion on how successful the president has been in cracking down on nepotism was not very positive. Only 49 per cent believed he had done something to crack down on nepotism, while 31 per cent felt he had achieved nothing in this area.
A beauty contest of ministers was topped Interior Minister Andreas Christou, with 31 per cent of respondents selecting him as the most trustworthy minister in Cabinet. In second place was Justice Minister Doros Theodorou, gaining 23 per cent of the public’s vote. Minister of Commerce George Lillikas came a close third with 22 per cent, followed by Communications Minister Kikis Kazamis at 21 per cent. Only 17 per cent of the public was satisfied with Minister of Finance Marcos Kyprianou, while Education Minister Pefkios Georgiades came in sixth with 15 per cent in the popularity poll.
The poll showed the popularity of the following Ministers had fallen: embattled Health Minister Dina Akkelidou, Defence Minister Koullis Mavronicholas, Labour Minister Iakovos Kervanos, Foreign Minister George Iakovou and Agriculture Minister Timis Efthimiou.
The issue of next June’s Euro-elections was also of concern. Asked who should fill Cyprus’ six seats in the European Parliament if a solution to the Cyprus problem was not found, 48 per cent said Greek Cypriots should fill all six seats while 33 per cent felt the seats originally allocated to the Turkish Cypriots must remain empty.
Half of those asked believed voting in the Euro-elections should be voluntary, while 42 per cent think it should be compulsory, like presidential and parliamentary elections.
The opinion poll revealed that 59 per cent of respondents would not consider voting for a Turkish Cypriot candidate, against 19 per cent who would, nine per cent who said it would depend on the candidate, and eight per cent who replied ‘maybe’.
If parliamentary elections were to take place next week, AKEL and DISY would come in neck and neck with 21 per cent. DIKO would come third with just six per cent and KS EDEK would get a mere three per cent.
