“The political and economic turbulences in the United Kingdom after the Brexit-vote have already left their impact on the public opinion in Austria. The desire among Austrians to leave the European Union decreased instantly by 8 percentage points. A stable majority in Austria continues to support its EU-membership.”, says Paul Schmidt, Secretary General of the Austrian Society for European Politics (ÖGfE), analyzing the results of a current ÖGfE-survey.
61 percent of Austrians presently believe that Austria should remain a member of the EU. 23 percent favor leaving the EU. 16 percent do not take a position. Compared to the last survey, which was conducted at the end of April and the beginning of May 2016, the number of membership supporters remained largely unchanged (plus 1 percentage point), while the number of membership opponents decreased by 8 percentage points (“unsure”/ “don’t know” has increased by 7 percentage points).
A total number of 51 Austrian-wide ÖGfE-surveys since 1995 indicate that – despite fluctuations – Austrians in favor of EU-membership have continuously formed a clear majority. On average the number of membership supporters has been at around 70 percent versus 23 percent of objectors. The highest support for EU-membership was recorded in June/July 2002 (80 percent), the strongest wish to leave the EU in June/July 2008 (33 percent).
Download time series: http://bit.ly/29ni67F
_________________
The current survey was conducted from 30 June to 5 July 2016 by the Sozialwissenschaftliche Studiengesellschaft on behalf of ÖGfE. 530 persons were questioned via telephone (Austrian population from the age of 16 / weighted according to sex, age and education). Maximum margin of fluctuation approx. +/- 4,3 percent.
Further inquiry:
Paul Schmidt
Austrian Society for European Politics
Tel.: (+43-1) 533 49 99
E-Mail: paul.schmidt@oegfe.at
https://twitter.com/_PaulSchmidt