Friday, 10. February 2012

:: Home > General News > Majority not interested in politics, study reveals

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
30	31	1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	1	2	3	4

Add your event FREE

Today

Polls

19. 11. 09. - 14:00

Majority not interested in politics, study reveals

By Thomas Hochwarter

Almost three quarters of Austrians have little or no interest in politics, a new poll has shown.

The shocking figures was revealed today (Thurs) in a poll by research agency Imas.

It said 71 per cent of respondents in a recent study said they were "not very" or "not at all" interested in politics.

Twenty-nine per cent told pollsters � who interviewed 1,086 people aged 16 and older for the representative survey in October and November � they would "often" or "constantly" follow current domestic political developments and debates.

A similar study by Imas in January and February 2000 found 56 per cent would "constantly" follow political issues. The agency said the survey had been conducted when Austria faced sanctions introduced by the European Union (EU) after the conservative People�s Party (�VP) formed a government coalition with the right-wing Freedom Party (FP�).

EU member countries broke off official bilateral political contacts with Austria.

The sanctions were lifted later the same year after a three-member expert commission set up by the EU ruled they were "counterproductive" � and the interest of Austrians in political developments decreased again.

Imas said the level of interest in politics did not correspond to education levels and said as few as one in 20 Austrians younger than 30 followed developments in domestic politics.

The agency added lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 had no positive influence on the situation.

Austrian Times

Write your comment to this article here

Tag cloud:
government coalition voting official Freedom politics expert sanctions Austria counterproductive survey Imas domestic bilateral positive agency lowering decreased poll commission

Latest News

Set up tax on financial transactions soon, says Katzian
The head of the Association of Private Employees (GPA-djp) has called for a quick introduction of a tax on financial transactions.

P�hringer rejects U-turn on rightist ball
Young Social Democrats (SP�) have appealed to Upper Austrian Governor Josef P�hringer not to attend the Burschenbundball in Linz this Saturday.

FP� under fire after trip to Grozny
The Freedom Party (FP�) has been harshly criticised for meeting with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

WKO boss wants pension age hike incentives
Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl has identified attempts to raise the average retirement age as the key issue regarding Austria�s budget.

Woman and child run over in Vienna
A woman and child have died in a road accident in Vienna, Austria. The lorry driver was making a right turn when he drove into a group of pedestrians leaving a 59-year-old and a 12-year-old dead. The mother of the school girl was left with serious injuries.

Schlecker says Austrian jobs are safe
The son of Schlecker founder Anton Schlecker has claimed that the company has no plans to sell its Austrian affiliate.

SP� sees smaller parliament as key signal
The general secretary of the Social Democrats (SP�) has argued his support for a reduction of the size of the parliament.

Austrian food to feature in organic trade fair
Austria is expected to be well represented at next week�s BioFach 2012 international organic trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Some 90 companies and organisations from the Austrian organic good sector will feature at the fair from 15 to 18 February.

Brothel for the homeless in Vienna
Homeless people are queueing up for free rooms in an Austrian brothel after owner Peter Laskaris said it would be unfair not to do everything he could during the current cold spell.

Deep-freeze snacks for orangutans in Sch�nbrunn
The lucky orangutans who take up residence in Europe�s oldest zoo have been indulging in a twice weekly take-away. Despite the trees in Sch�nbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria now being completely bare the fury friends have fresh branches and leaves delivered twice a week.