Cyprus Public Opinion Trends

How do Cypriots classify their political ideologies and preferences? To what extent do they identify with the notions of the “left” and “right”? • In general, Turkish-Cypriots are more likely to identify with the left or right than Greek-Cypriots. In turn, Greek-Cypriots are more likely to identify with the centre or to not express a preference than Turkish-Cypriots. • The proportion of Cypriots that do not express a preference has gone from being the least common to the most common preference between 2004-2018.

The second part of the series examining the extent to which global trends in disaffection towards political institutions manifest themselves in Cyprus, focuses on European Union institutions. The analysis finds that trust in the EU and its institutions (European Parliament, European Commission, European Central Bank) fell among Cypriots from 2011 onward. However, this is mostly due to lower trust among Greek-Cypriots, as trust is higher and remained more stable for Turkish-Cypriots during this period.

This two part series examines the extent to which global trends in disaffection towards political institutions also manifest themselves in Cyprus and how it compares to other EU countries. Trust towards political parties is examined in this first part of the series. The analysis finds that trust in parties has been declining over the past 15 years, particularly from 2014 onwards. In contrast, the EU as a whole experienced relative stability during this period.