By Nikos Marantzidis and George Siakas*
The survey was conducted by PORU and it was presented in the Greek website protagon.gr.
After 25 years and even if the Greek public opinion admits that the demonstrations concerning the Name Dispute do not have an impact in the negotiation process, people still take part in such mass protests in order to express their opposition to the inclusion of the term Macedonia in the name of the neighboring country.
So, who are those who participate in such events, and what do they want? With regard to the age, people between 35-54 share the most unfavorable view for the inclusion of the word Macedonia, while people between 17-35 and 55+ share a more favorable opinion.
The Greek public opinion, especially during the years of the economic crisis, lives in a prolonged period of introversion and isolationism. Many people feel constantly underprivilidged, unprotected and alone. The stronger the feelings of “victimization,” the more rigid their attitude. With regards to the name issue, the majority believes that the adoption of a compound name hides a future territorial threat from our neighboring country.
*The official article was presented in Greek and you can read it here.
* Nikos Marantzidis is teaching Political Science in the University of Macedonia and George Siakas is the Research Director of Public Opinion Research Unit.
*Photo: Lefteris Partsalis/CNN Greece
