This week, the research platform People of Greece recorded the habits of Greeks on March 25th, their opinion on military parades, the meaning they attach to the concept of nationalism, the actions they associate with the concepts of nationalism and patriotism, their opinion on the concept and content of feminism, on developments in Turkey and on the interventions of Alexis Tsipras and, finally, recorded their position on the “anti-systemicism-systemicism” axis.
The findings showed that:
- Military parades divide Greeks as to their value, but at the same time 40% consider them a neutral habit.
- The national identity of Greeks is clearly stronger than the European one, to the point that certain manifestations of its strength are not understood by the majority of Greeks as signs of nationalism.
- The concept of nationalism is perceived differently by different parts of the electorate, with two-thirds of the left associating it with a negative connotation and two-thirds of the right associating it with a positive connotation.
- The concept of feminism is perceived negatively by the vast majority of Greeks, although the content of the concept is accepted by this majority.
- The recent political developments in Turkey raise expectations of a deterioration of Turkey’s relations with the European Union, without, however, implying a deterioration of Turkey’s relations with Greece.
- Alexis Tsipras’ interventions are not attracting the interest of more than a limited part of the electorate (about 15%) and a notable, but not majority, part of SYRIZA voters (about 40%).
- The concept of antisystemicity is more often associated with the ‘left’ than with the ‘right’, and in terms of its strength in the current context, it does not constitute a majority current in Greek society.
See in detail the opinion of Greeks in the infographics below.
25 March
- Eating cod is the strongest March 25th custom (68%), while watching the school parade is the second strongest (50%).
- Greeks’ positions on military parades are divided into three parts: for 39% the parades are nothing more than a custom, but for 35% they are an indication of the operational readiness of the armed forces and for 26% they are a sign of an overly nationalistic element.
Nationalism and Patriotism
- Only one in four Greeks feel their European identity is stronger than their Greek identity, with the percentage being higher for those who position themselves on the left.
- 56% of Greeks say that Greek culture is superior to other cultures, with the percentage being higher for those who position themselves on the right.
- 51% of Greeks assign a positive connotation to the concept of “nationalism” and 37% assign a negative connotation. The concept seems to be perceived in completely different ways by left and right voters, with 2/3 of left-wingers associating it with a negative connotation and 2/3 of right-wingers associating it with a positive connotation.
- Among those who attribute a negative sign to nationalism, the top signs of nationalism were recorded as reaction to handing a flag to a student who is not of Greek origin and the depiction of national symbols in tattoos. Among those who attributed a positive sign to nationalism, hanging the flag on the balcony during national holidays and all year round were recorded as top signs of nationalism.
Feminism
- Six out of ten Greeks believe that the life prospects of a boy and a girl born in Greece today are equal, while three out of ten Greeks – mainly women and younger age groups – believe that the prospects are better for a boy.
- The concept of feminism is perceived negatively by the majority of Greeks, with around ¾ of Greeks refusing to identify themselves as feminists, even though 9/10 of Greeks accept the content of the concept, i.e. they believe that men and women should be treated in exactly the same way.
Interventions by Alexis Tsipras
- 39% of Greeks believe that Alexis Tsipras’ political interventions are always meaningless, while only 13% believe that his interventions are always meaningful
Developments in Turkey
- One in two Greeks believe that following the latest political developments in Turkey, Turkey’s relations with the European Union will deteriorate, while one in three believe that these developments will not affect Turkish-European relations.
- The view that the latest developments in Turkey will lead to a warm incident with Greece does not gather the majority of responses from Greeks.
Antisystemicity
- 17% of Greeks choose to place themselves at the anti-systemicity end and 12% of Greeks choose the systemicity end, with the rest symmetrically distributed in the intermediate positions.
- Anti-systemicism shows a significant correlation with positioning on the left of the classic “left-right” axis, as the percentage of left-wing voters who place themselves on the anti-systemic extreme reaches 30%, while the percentage of right-wing voters is limited to 9%.
