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Christofias Highly Popular in Greek Cyprus
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Three-in-four residents of Greek Cyprus are content with the job of their recently-elected president, according to a poll by Noverna published in Politis. 75 per cent of respondents approve of the performance of Dimitris Christofias.
In February, Christofias—a member of the Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL)—won the presidential run-off with 53.37 per cent of the vote. Christofias had served as president of the House of Representatives and secretary general of the left-wing AKEL.
Relations between the Greek majority and the Turkish minority in Cyprus have been frayed since 1974, when a Greek-sponsored attempt to seize the government was met by military intervention from Turkey. In the skirmish, the Turks gained control of almost two-fifths of the island, which in 1983 declared itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Turkish government has never acknowledged the Greek Cypriot administration. More than 30,000 Turkish soldiers occupy the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
One of Christofias’ main campaign promises was to resume peace talks with Turkish Cyprus. On Mar. 21, Christofias and Turkish Cypriot president Mehmet Ali Talat agreed to restart reunification talks.
On Apr. 15, Christofias called for the international community’s help in reaching a deal with Turkish Cyprus and said Turkey’s position towards his country will make talks difficult, adding, "From now on, we have no illusions. We know things are hard. We realize it is not easy at all to reverse the facts created by the Turkish intervention and the division of Cyprus. We know we are not dealing merely with our Turkish Cypriot compatriots."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Dimitris Christofias’ performance as president?
|
Approve |
75% |
|
Disapprove |
9% |
|
Not sure |
16% |
Source: Noverna / Politis
Methodology: Interviews to 500 Greek Cyprus adults, conducted from Apr. 18 to Apr. 30, 2008. Margin of error is 4.4 per cent.