Citizens’ trust in political parties across key areas of public life is captured in the second part of the GPO poll for STAR, with the cost of living, corruption, and the welfare state emerging as areas where party standings show significant differences. On foreign policy matters, New Democracy ranks first with a trust rating of 36.1%. It is followed by ELAS at 13.9% and PASOK at 11.5%, while a notably high share of citizens — reaching 36% — say they do not trust any party.
GPO poll: The cost of living remains the biggest thorn in the government’s side
On tackling the cost of living crisis, among the three parties, New Democracy leads with 23.5%, followed by ELAS at 17.4% and PASOK at 13.3%.
Commenting on the findings, GPO Research Director Antonis Papargysis described the cost of living as the most critical issue the government must address, while also highlighting the opposition parties’ failure to convince citizens that they have concrete solutions. “The big issue is the cost of living. While it is the number one problem for citizens who are dissatisfied with the government, the opposition parties have not managed to persuade people that they have the answers to break the deadlock on the cost-of-living crisis,” he stated.
ELAS leads on corruption and the welfare state
A different picture emerges on the issue of corruption. Here, citizens place greater trust in ELAS, with a rating of 20.9%, followed by New Democracy at 17.7% and PASOK at 11.2%.
A similar pattern is recorded in the area of the welfare state, where ELAS garners 22.7%, compared to 21.7% for New Democracy and 14.4% for PASOK.
According to Antonis Papargysis, these findings highlight the issues on which Alexis Tsipras is expected to focus in the coming period, while simultaneously posing challenges for the government.
“Mr. Tsipras — we will see him throw his weight behind corruption issues and socially sensitive matters in the period ahead. That is where a real challenge exists for the government,” Mr. Papargysis emphasized.
