Filenews 7 March 2021 - by Frixos Dalitis
Outraged at corruption but also frustrated by the measures to deal with the citizens. Remarkable is the fact that apart from the disappointment of the actions taken to combat corruption, it is the confidence that the majority of society has that corruption will not cease to exist in Cyprus.
This attitude is even more pronounced in younger age groups, which shows that the perception of corruption as behaviour and political attitudes has become more common in society. This conclusion is also reinforced by the fact that although the Government is at the centre of public criticism, there is nevertheless a horizontal frustration and distrust of all political parties as to the question of which political force could effectively tackle corruption. This largely gives the answer to the low political interest of young people and citizens in general, which results in either abstention in particular or a protest vote. All this is reflected in the results of a new public opinion survey carried out for the Liberal this month by CMERC Cypronetwork.
As the results of the poll show, it seems that the general public is not convinced of the adequacy of the measures announced or of the government's determination to tackle corruption, and opinions differ on the question of whether some parties really want an end to corruption in the country.
In particular, only 1 in 10 Cypriots, i.e. 8%, are assessed as very and very satisfactory for the degree of satisfaction with the measures announced. Quite satisfactory indicates 1 in 5 Cypriots while 2 out of 3, i.e. 66%, judge the measures as little or no satisfactory. The least negative in terms of the effectiveness of the measures are those over the age of 65, but also the age groups of 25-34 years and 35-44 years.
In terms of geographical distribution, the most negative are the Pafites, with 84% saying that they consider the measures to be unsatisfactory/a little satisfactory and only 1% that they are too satisfactory. As far as the level of education is concerned, there is a balance at all levels from primary to postgraduate.
Non-satisfaction rates among EDEC, DIKO, ELAM and ACPL voters range from 74%-79%, Solidarity to 50% and DISY 51%.
At the same time, more than 7 out of 10 Cypriots, 73% feel that the government is not determined to fight corruption and interconnection. More tragic is the estimate by more than 8 out of 10 citizens (84%) that in the end there will be no catharsis in interconnection and corruption in Cyprus with the rates of ages 18-24 and 45-54 reaching 90% and 94% respectively. In more detail, in the age group 25-34 the percentage who answered the question negatively reaches 83%, in the age group of 35-44 is reduced to 79% which is the lowest percentage of all age groups. The second lowest percentage concerns the age group of 65 and above, which reaches 80%. In terms of level of education, it is noted that at the lower levels of education, suspicion is greater. In particular, people with a primary level of education responded negatively with 89%, with a high school/high school/college/university level of 85% and with a Master's degree of 85%.
The highest percentages of questioning are recorded among the voters of Ecologists, ACPL, DIKO, ELAM (79-83%), while the corresponding percentages of voters of the DISY reach 59%.
1 in 10 trusts the exploratory committee set up on the subject of natural ism, while 2 out of 3, 66%, say they trust this committee little or no. In more detail with regard to the geographical distribution of participants, those who trust the exploratory committee the least are the residents of Paphos, with 81% stating that they do not trust it at all, or trust it a little. Those who are less negative towards the exploratory committee are the residents of Larnaca a percentage of 57%. In terms of ages, it is the ages of 18-24 who trust the research committee the least, while those over the age of 65 are the group that declares the lowest rate of lack of confidence in the research committee. In relation to the level of education and again with the highest level of education, it is those with the lowest rate of distrust towards the exploratory committee.
Of particular interest, however, is the party origins of those who answered either negatively or positively to the question. Unsurprisingly, the highest rates of questioning are seen among ACPL voters, DIKO as the main opposition parties and with daily high tones of criticism. In particular, 79% of ACPL and DIKO voters said they had no confidence in the exploratory committee, while for the Citizens' Alliance and the ELAM the percentage who said they did not trust the exploratory committee fell to 64% and 65% respectively and the EDEC to 52%. From the DISY, but also from the EDEC comes the percentage of those who said that they trust the investigative committee very much, with the percentage however limited to only 13%
When asked whether they believe there will ultimately be catharsis in the conflict and corruption, 84% of voters are negatively opposed to an overwhelming majority of negative attitudes from all parties.
Of particular interest is the position of the citizens in the question of whether they believe whether any parties really want corruption to stop in our country. The answers show that public distrust is largely horizontal. In particular, only 49% answered the above question in the affirmative, while 51% answered in the negative. Higher rates of positive rating for parties are recorded for ACPL, DIKO and ELAM voters (64%, 62%, 79% respectively). Lower percentages are recorded by Solidarity and the Movement of Ecologists- Citizens' Cooperation. As far as DISY voters are concerned, they were divided right in half, with 50% responding positively and the other 50% negative, while some of the voters of the EDEC were also divided, with 48% responding negatively and 52% responding positively.
Yes to municipal associations
Of particular interest are the citizens' responses to Local Government. According to the results, about 1 in 2 Cypriots disagrees, in the context of the reform of the Local Government, to make the union in 17 municipalities with particularly high rates of disagreement in Paphos province and younger ages. At the same time, however, 59%, i.e. about 6 out of 10 Cypriots, responded positively to the position of union where possible, with particularly high rates in the Nicosia province of 74%.
This answer can be interpreted in a variety of ways, as it is not clear from the answer that they agree to a larger or smaller number of associations but respond positively and vaguely that associations should be made with as many municipalities as possible.
The largest percentage of people who say that a union should be made with as many municipalities as possible comes from the province of Nicosia with 74% In any case, what is clear is that a majority of 56% agree to lead referendums before the final regulation and with the percentages of voters of ACPL, DIKO and EDEC ranging from 65%-74%.
Choose dizonal as a solution
In the context of the survey, citizens were asked to answer in their opinion which of the positions announced (now and in the past) is acceptable to them, with regard to the forthcoming five-party conference on the Cyprus issue. According to the answers, the bi-league federation has the highest acceptance rate at 43%, while the second choice by a large margin is the single state with 24%. Decentralized federation and confederation are not accepted by the general public since they record only 3% and 8% respectively.
It is also noted that 11% i.e. about 1 in 10 Cypriots do not favour any of the forms of solution mentioned, while also 10% said they do not know/do not respond.
Higher percentages for the IDO are recorded among the voters of the ACPL, the DISY and the DIKO and the Single State among the voters of THELAM and the EDEC. In particular, 46% of the DISY, 56% of the ACPL and 43% of the DIKO were in favour of the IDO. It is also worth mentioning the fact that about 1 in 4 EDEC voters and 1 in 5 ELAM voters, despite the fact that both parties have renounced the IDO as a form of solution to the Cyprus problem, are in favour of this solution. Remarkable is also the fact that of the voters of the DISY only 5% agree with the idea of the decentralized federation, while the largest percentage of votes for a decentralized federation is collected by the EDEC with 9%. It is also worth mentioning that 1 in 3 DISY voters are in favour of a single state solution (31%), one in five ACPL voters is also in favour of a single state (20%), while as far as the DIKO is concerned the proportion of voters in favour of a single state reaches 39%. And the EDEC (48%). and from the Ecologists 10%.
RESEARCH ID:
Methodology: Telephone interviews
Target group: People aged 18 and over, men and women living in both urban and rural areas. The sample was representative of the population in terms of constituency, region of residence, gender and age.
Sample size: n=1000 interviews
Data collection: 24 February - 4 March 2021
Sample selection: The Random Multisted Stratified Sampling method was used.
Company: CYMR-Cypronetwork Ltd (member of the Cypronetwork Group of Companies, SEDEAK and ESOMAR).
Assignment: FILE FREEDOM Group
