Editorial Ta Nea: Messages

There are three numbers that stand out from the results of a GPO opinion poll published today by Ta Nea.

The first regards citizens’ overall evaluation of the record of the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Two years into his term and 15 months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government enjoys a 53.7 percent approval rating,

That figure is impressive on its own but also as compared to the mid-term approval rating of previous governments.

In June, 2017, the percentage of citizens who were positive or likely positive about the then SYRIZA government was just 13.1 percent!

That is not SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras’ sole cause for concern.

The broad approval of the government in public opinion is accompanied by a notably high percentage of citizens – 73.2 percent – who are negative about SYRIZA’s opposition tactics.

Among SYRIZA voters, over 38 percent are negative.

Something must be wrong. Is it the levelling criticism of the government? Is it the absence of any self-criticism about the errors of the past? Is it fatigue from seeing the same cadres over and over again, including the former PM?

The poll had a third notable finding – the percentage of respondents who do not deem either of the two top party leaders fit to be PM (27.7 percent, compared to 60 percent in September, 2011).

That demonstrates that despite the problems and successive crises, or perhaps due to them, the two-party centred system is alive and well.