Poll: 54% of Bulgarians oppose Brexit
About fifty-four per cent of Bulgarians do not want to see the United Kingdom leave the European Union while 14.7 per cent are in favour of Brexit, according to the results of an Alpha Research poll, released on April 1.
Bulgarian society is dominated by the expectation that Brexit will have a negative influence – on the UK, on the EU and on Bulgaria in particular, Alpha Research said.
The poll was done between March 22 and 26, before the initially-planned date of Brexit of March 29.
Every fifth household in Bulgaria saw a direct risk to itself because of Brexit because it had relatives in the UK, the polling agency said.
Just more than 30 per cent of the Bulgarians polled replied “don’t know” to the Brexit question.
Alpha Research said that the results of the questions related to Brexit consolidated the pro-European Union orientation of Bulgarians.
For 63 per cent, there was no alternative to Bulgaria being a member of the EU. Only eight per cent were opposed to Bulgaria’s EU membership.
Sixty-one per cent supported the position of more mutual concessions between states in the name of a stronger EU, against 39 per cent, according to whom national interests must be firmly defended, even at risk of weakening the EU.
Bulgarians preferred moderate, mainstream parties, seeing them as capable of achieving a more united EU. By two to one, they were preferred to populist and disruptive political forces.
In spite of some negative attitudes on specific EU issues, such as the mobility package, the potential Eurosceptic vote in Bulgaria remained limited and with no consolidating political force, compared with other EU countries, Alpha Research said.
(Illustration: Tiocfaidh ár lá 1916/flickr.com)
