THE GOVERNMENT continues to enjoy the support of the public over its handling of the Cyprus problem but not on domestic policy, according to polls published by Phileleftheros and Alithia.
In a separate poll commissioned by left-wing newspaper Haravghi, the results concluded that AKEL remains the most popular party on the island.
Haravghi’s poll found that AKEL enjoyed the largest share of support with 28 per cent of those asked backing the communist party, with opposition party DISY trailing with 24.9 per cent and the President’s party DIKO enjoying 19.1 per cent of the vote. A total of 59 per cent of those asked think AKEL will come first in next year’s parliamentary elections. The poll revealed that government partner AKEL enjoyed a lot of support from the younger sections of society.
DISY spokesman, Tasos Mitsopoulos, responded to the results highlighting that no poll to date has managed accurately to predict the size of support for his party. “This was proved during the euro elections and in the parliamentary elections four years ago,” he said.
He referred to another poll recently studied by DISY, which highlighted specific weaknesses in the government’s domestic policy.
According to yesterday’s Alithia, the same poll revealed that President Tassos Papadopoulos had the support of the people over his handling of the Cyprus problem, but his government did not have support in domestic policy.
The poll revealed that domestic policy was the Achilles’ heel of the government. After the national problem, the biggest concerns of the public are issues relating to the economy, democracy, equality and pluralism, areas in which the Papadopoulos government is perceived to be lacking.
The poll showed that voters from all parties agreed that Cyprus had to invest in Europe. The EU appeared to be the last beacon of hope for Cypriots, who see membership as a way of upgrading the country.
Meanwhile, a poll published in Phileleftheros on Sunday also revealed that the only strong point of the present government was its handling of the Cyprus problem since last year’s referendum.
The study undertaken by RAI consultants found that confidence in Papadopoulos over the Cyprus problem has grown but not in his government. The biggest supporters of the President come from older age groups while EDEK veters showed the greatest satisfaction with Papadopoulos.
The economy seems to be the biggest problem for Cypriots after the Cyprus problem, followed by drugs.
In Famagusta, unemployment is the biggest worry, while the presence of foreigners concerns residents in the Paphos district.
From the cabinet, Interior Minister Andreas Christou remains the most popular with 7.5 out of 10. Finance Minister Makis Keravnos comes a close second with 7.2. Agriculture Minister Timis Efthymiou saw an increase in popularity, coming fourth on the list, as did Communications Minister Haris Thrasou (fifth).
Bottom of the popularity list was Education Minister Pefkios Georgiades with 5.7 points, while Defence Minister Koulis Mavronicolas was a close second to bottom with 5.8.
Mavronicolas, Justice Minister Doros Theodorou and Commerce Minister Georgios Lillikas all dropped points in the popularity stakes.
