Cypriots trust the army more than politicians

Nearly nine out of ten Cypriots do not trust politicians but believe the army and police are their most trusted institutions, according to Eurobarometer results for Cyprus.

When asked which institutions and media people trust more, the army came top in people’s replies with 62% followed by the police with 52% and television 48% (although the percentage of those who say they distrust television is higher, with 49%).

At the same time, 87% of Cypriots say they don’t trust political parties, 66% distrust the government and 63% the parliament.

Also, 46% of those surveyed said they are happy about the way democracy works in Cyprus, compared to the 54% average in the EU.

Some 37% of Cypriots and 42% of Europeans feel the EU has a positive image. Most Cypriots (56%) and Europeans (58%) note that they are optimistic about the bloc’s future.

Also, most Cypriots and Europeans say that the most positive outcomes of the EU are peace among member states and freedom of movement.

When it comes to key policy areas, the majority of Cypriots and Europeans are in favour of free movement for EU citizens.

Cypriots are also in favour of the common defence, energy, trade and foreign policies.

Most of those surveyed in Cyprus and the EU28 believe that misinformation and fake news is a problem for democracy in general.

The survey was conducted between November 14-28, 2019, before Brexit, in a sample of 505 residing in the Republic of Cyprus.

Turkish Cypriots

According to the Eurobarometer survey, the majority of Turkish Cypriots (55%) judge the economic situation in their community to be bad, while 38% say they expect the economy to stay the same over the next 12 months.

Some 22% expect the economic situation to improve in a year.

Turkish Cypriots believe that rising prices and the economic situation are the most important issues facing their community.

And 50% of those surveyed say they trust the EU, compared to 40% who say the opposite. Trust is slightly higher, in comparison to the Spring 2019 Eurobarometer, while distrust fell by 6%.