site.btaGERB Would Get 24.8% of Votes, Socialists - 20.5% if Elections Were Held Now - Poll

Sofia, July 9 (BTA) - GERB would get 24.8 per cent of the votes and the Bulgarian Socialist Party - 20.5 per cent if elections were held now, shows a Mediana poll, conducted among 1,008 adults between July 1 and 6. Support for the United Patriots - the junior partners in the ruling coalition, stands at 9.7 per cent, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) would get 8.3 per cent of the votes, Volya - 2.1 per cent, ABV - 1.9 per cent, while 22.3 per cent of respondents said they would abstain from voting.

According to sociologists, the end of the Bulgarian EU Presidency rather brings disappointment and growing scepticism. The political turmoil in Germany and the obvious discrepancies between the positions of the European states increase Euroscepticism in Bulgaria, Mediana commented. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents believe that the EU will manage to preserve itself in its current form in the next ten years. The idea of community, solidarity and togetherness is subject to a serious blow. Only 16 per cent believe that something resembling "Euroatlantic solidarity" exists in reality. According to sociologists, this paints a picture of growing concern by a turbulent world and an unstable Europe, where it's every man for himself, and tiny Bulgaria is just a spectator (and a possible victim).

According to the poll, 43 per cent of respondents would like to see the Government complete its full term, 29 per cent want to see it go, while 19 per cent are indifferent.

Support for GERB declined by 1 per cent, while BSP lost 2 per cent. The difference between the two, however, is still within the 4 per cent margin. The Patriotic Front retains stable positions. MRF is in its normal state and there are no indications it has suffered from the formation of the DOST party by MRF's former leader Lyutvi Mestan. Volya, ABV and the different Right-wing formations revolve around 2 per cent, which is below the threshold for entering Parliament, Mediana said.

According to the polling agency, the situation as manifested by the survey is not due to stability, but rather to the lack of a clear political alternative for voters. It is indicative that over 55 per cent of respondents have stated they might vote for one of two possible future political parties - a party headed by TV show host Slavi Trifonov and a party led by President Rumen Radev.