Reuters: World News: Euro zone citizens want to keep common currency: poll

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Euro zone citizens want to keep common currency: poll May 24th 2012, 15:53 LONDON | Thu May 24, 2012 11:14am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Voters from Germany to Greece would vote to keep the euro if their countries held a referendum tomorrow, according to a poll centered on the key national players in the euro zone debt crisis. Six out of 10 voters who expressed a preference from Greece, Germany, France, Italy and Spain said they would opt to keep their countries in the euro, Thursday's Ipsos poll found, with the same proportion in favor of holding such a referendum. Popular support for the common European currency was strongest in Greece, which is edging precipitously close to the euro zone exits. Three-quarters of decided voters there said they would back the euro. But in Germany and Italy a far slimmer majority of voters backed the euro, with 57 percent of those decided in favor of keeping it in both cases. "Regardless of the turmoil and the debate that's going on in these crucial countries, it would seem that for the time being, people want to stick with the euro," said John Wright, senior vice president of global public affairs at Ipsos. "I think that sends a positive message about the euro itself. People aren't willing to abandon it - not yet." Support for a euro referendum was strongest in Germany, with seven out of 10 in favor. Around 10 percent of the sample in most countries did not express a preference, however, suggesting the slim majorities in favor of the euro in Germany and Italy may be fragile ones. European Union government ministers are now talking openly about the possibility of a Greek exit, and while they have urged Athens to complete the reforms demanded under its bailout program, they are preparing contingency plans in case it quits. (Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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