Eight in 10 Greeks have positive outlook, new survey finds

More than eight in 10 Greeks are optimistic about the prospects of moving past the current pandemic and feel the right steps are being taken, according to a survey by Metron Analysis carried out for the DiaNEOsis think-tank. 

According to the nationwide survey, titled “How Greeks Live During the Pandemic,” 85.7 percent of Greeks feel that things are moving in the right direction, a trend that has only been recorded twice before – once in the February 2015, after a new leftist government came to power on a promise to roll back austerity, and in the fall of 2019 when the outlook for economic growth was good.

The current optimism is shared by a majority of Greeks irrespective of age, professional status, educational level, income, geographical location and political affiliation. 

The survey also points to rising faith in Greek institutions with a rise of 14 percentage points in trust in the prime minister compared to the last survey, a rise of 12 percentage points in faith in the president and an increase of 13 percentage points regarding trust in the government which enjoys a 65 percent approval rate. 

There is also more faith in the welfare state (up 16 percentage points) and the media (with trust up 13 percentage points for television, 8 percentage points for radio and five for newspapers) though most respondents said they sought their information about the pandemic online. 

The only institution which has lost significant support is the European Union with 27.3 percent saying they trust it in the new survey compared to 42.1 percent two years ago. 

As for daily life during the pandemic, one in 10 Greeks (10.9 percent) said they were sitting out the pandemic alone (with that figure rising to 19.3 percent for the elderly). 

Asked to rate their level on anxiety from a chart of 1 rising to 10, the average said 5.5. For six out of 10 (62 percent) the stress was due to fears about health risks faced by loves ones with 23.7 percent saying they feared for their own health. 

One in five (21.3 percent) said they believed they had been infected at some point by the virus

Asked if they had left the house in the past 24 hours, 63.6 percent said yes, most to go shopping of exercise.