Poll shows majority of FYROM protesters right-wingers who trust army, the Church most

A new poll released by Kappa Research compares the political and demographic profile of FYROM naming protesters at the huge 4 February Athens rally with that of the so-called anti-austerity Indignados who occupied Syntagma Square in 2011.

The findings indicate that Sunday’s was a right-wing leaning crowd which opposes Skopje’s use of the name Macedonia in any form.

In terms of political orientation, 54 percent on 4 February were towards the right wing (only 13 percent in 2011), 21 percent identified themselves as centrists (26 percent in 2011), 15 percent were left-leaning, (45 percent among the Indignados in 2011), and 10 percent refused to reply, compared to 16 percent in 2011.

Of those attending last Sunday’s rally, 52 percent voted no in the July, 2015, referendum on whether to accept the EU’s bailout package terms, and just 24 percent voted in the affirmative.

Asked how they would characterise the rally, 65 percent viewed it as a peaceful protest, and 29 percent saw it as a mobilisation to topple the system. In 2011, 40 percent viewed the rally as a peaceful protest, and a hefty 46 percent saw it as a move to overturn the political system

The finding suggests that a significant percentage of attendees on 4 February may have been motivated in some measure by their opposition to continuing harsh austerity

Faith in the army, distrust of parliament

The right-wing tendencies of the crowd was also indicated by the fact that 64 percent said they trust the army very much or substantially, and 55 percent expressed trust in the Church.

An amazing 85 percent of respondents said they were negative about the institution of parliament, and 93 percent rated political parties negatively.

The vast majority of demonstrators were residents of Attica (83 percent), five percent were from the Greek province of Central Macedonia, four percent from mainland Greece, two percent from Thessaly, and the rest from other regions of the country.

While 77 percent of protesters on 4 February were men and 23 percent women, the divs for 2011 were 55.5 percent men and 44,5 percent women.

At the Athens FYROM rally, 72 percent were over 45 years of age (16 percent in 2011), 28 percent were between 45-54 years old (16 percent in 2011), 25 percent between 55-64 (12 percent in 2011), and 19 percent 65 and over (11 percent in 2011).