Satisfaction with President Nikos Christodoulides has fallen to 35%, with 64% of respondents dissatisfied, according to a RAI Consultants survey for Alpha Cyprus presented on Sunday. The poll is the first since the May parliamentary elections to offer an overall assessment of the government. It was carried out between 21 September and 5 October and captures the picture at the start of autumn, before more recent developments, but its findings carry greater weight when set alongside the measurements taken earlier in the year.
The president’s curve
Alpha began tracking satisfaction with the way the president carries out his duties in January, when Christodoulides stood at his lowest point of the year with 33%. The figure rose to 39% in March and reached 41% in May, a few weeks before the vote. In the latest measurement it has dropped back to 35%, while of the 64% who are dissatisfied, 38% said they were “not very” satisfied and 26% “not at all” satisfied. The assessment of the government’s work is similar, with 65% expressing dissatisfaction and 33% satisfaction. Olympios Toumazos, chairman of the board of RAI Consultants, said on Alpha’s Sunday programme that, based on the results, the current assessment of the government is more negative than positive.
The country’s direction
In the same survey, 59% believe Cyprus is heading in the wrong direction, 21% that it is on the right track and 18% chose neither. The negative assessment has remained stable across every measurement since last autumn. In a CyBC poll in November 2025, 62% saw the country moving in the wrong direction, while in May, two weeks before the parliamentary elections, RealPolls recorded the same figure at 64.4%. The share of those who see the country on the right track ranges from 9% in the CyBC poll to 27.5% in RealPolls. The negative assessment, however, has held between 59% and 64%, over the same period in which satisfaction with the president first rose by eight points before falling back by six.
Where the dissatisfaction lies
The breakdown by policy area shows where the negative verdict is concentrated. Foreign policy is the only area to win satisfaction above 50%, at 51%, while 69% disapprove of the handling of domestic governance. Among individual areas, health receives the best rating, with 46% satisfied against 54% dissatisfied. It is followed by migration at 37% against 62%, the Cyprus problem at 32% against 67% and public safety at 31% against 68%. Dissatisfaction reaches 70% on the economy and 69% on education.
Meritocracy and the fight against corruption receive the worst rating, with 17% satisfied and 82% dissatisfied, 12 points higher than the next area. The finding matches what polls have been recording for a year. In the CyBC survey of November 2025, corruption was the country’s most important problem for 28% of citizens. In a Stratego/IMR poll for Kathimerini a few weeks before the parliamentary elections, scandals and collusion topped the issues discussed by citizens at 45%, followed by high prices and the cost of living at 43%.
Dissatisfaction with the economy comes at a time of positive macroeconomic assessments, with Fitch upgrading Cyprus’ credit rating to A a few days ago. The gap was already visible in January, when 39% of respondents in a CyBC survey said they faced difficulty with their income and 14% great difficulty, against 15% who said they lived comfortably.
The roots of distrust
CyBC’s political culture surveys ahead of the parliamentary elections provide the wider context. In January, 31% said they felt disappointed with the current situation and 18% anxious. In February, 47% believed the state was functioning worse than in the previous five years, while 35% trusted no institution at all, with political parties and parliament recording the lowest levels of trust at 11% and 16% respectively. In the last pre-election measurement, one in two respondents said society needs profound change, a figure 10 points higher than in 1996.
The view by party
Based on how respondents voted in the May parliamentary elections, the highest satisfaction with the president comes from voters of governing partner Diko, at 52%, followed closely by Elam voters at 51%. Disy voters are satisfied at 47%, while the figure drops to 24% among Alma voters and 15% among Akel voters. Voters of Elam, an opposition party, therefore rate the president more favourably than Disy voters, many of whom backed him in 2023.
