Survey finds two-thirds of Austrians see country as divided

Two-thirds of Austria’s population describe the country as divided when it comes to politics, according to a survey by the Linz-based market research institute IMAS, published by ORF.

Respondents who perceive social divisions most often identified immigration, social welfare systems and the way religions are treated as fault lines, at 44 percent. Politics and government followed at 35 percent.

Five percent of those surveyed saw no social division at all, while 16 percent said they saw it rather less. Twelve percent gave no answer.

The survey also found that 69 percent of respondents feel uncertain about deciding what is right and wrong in politics and the economy. At the same time, they said they lacked guidance on questions of life. Twenty-two percent said they lacked such guidance rather less or not at all, while nine percent did not respond.

IMAS interviewed 1,028 people directly between June 10 and 30. The respondents were statistically representative of Austria’s population aged 16 and over.