A large portion of Greeks appear highly distrustful of key institutions in the country, including the rule of law and traditionally accepted foundations like the Church, according to a poll presented last week at the Alexis Tsipras Institute called “Rule of Law: Democracy and Freedom”.
The survey, carried out by Metron Analysis, assessed how citizens felt about the effectiveness of various aspects of the Rule of Law in an environment of declining trust in state institutions and representative democracy.
Unsurprisingly, the findings revealed the public was concerned about the government’s handling of the Tempi train tragedy. Specifically, those polled seemed unconvinced about how the government managed the issue regarding divulging the truth and assigning responsibility.
Indicatively, more than 7 in 10 respondents in the poll believe there is an attempt to cover up accountability in the Tempi case. This is a similar percentage to the wiretapping scandal.
When it comes to trust in institutions, the family ranks highest at 82%, followed by the Armed Forces at 58% and the Church at 36%. The Police come next at 31%, while trust in the Judiciary stands at 22%, with the government trailing at 15%. At the bottom of the list are banks (13%), Parliament (13%), the media (8%), trade unions (7%), and political parties (6%).
The justice system receives particularly low ratings in the Metron Analysis survey regarding both its effectiveness and its independence. Notably, the majority of citizens identify the two biggest issues in the judiciary as its slow pace (91%) and political interference (79%).
