By Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Most Greeks today see the holding of the July 5, 2015 referendum on the latest bailout, which Athens was negotiating with its international creditors, as harmful, according to an opinion poll released on the occasion of the second anniversary on Wednesday.
In the survey carried out by "Aboutpeople" for Greek weekly newspaper Athens Voice, 55.9 percent of respondents say the referendum should not have been held, while 34 percent still agrees with its holding.
The 51.4 percent of the participants said that the referendum was damaging for Greece. Only 7.3 percent said that it helped, while 38 percent appeared neutral.
Amid marathon talks on the terms of Athens' cooperation with lenders after the change in government in Greece in early 2015, the Left-led government called in late June 2015 a referendum in a surprise move that fuelled tensions.
Within a few days, amid scenarios of an imminent rift with creditors, default and Grexit, capital controls were imposed to avert a bank run.
On July 5, 2015 Greek voters headed to the ballots to answer the question whether they approve or not the creditors' draft proposal on Greece's third bailout program since 2010.
A resounding 61 percent Greeks voted No, while 39 percent said Yes.
The government used the result as a "strong bargaining tool" in the following round of talks with lenders and a few days later the two sides sealed the third bailout.
Two years later, the capital controls have yet to be lifted despite the improved economic indexes. But the Greek government and lenders are optimistic that the bailout will smoothly expire in mid 2018 and Greece will be able to stand on its own feet in the future.
However, in all opinion polls conducted in recent months, the majority of Greek citizens still express disappointment over the current state of the economy and concern over the future.
The "Aboutpeople" opinion survey was conducted on June 26-27 with the participation of 601 persons.
