London, Yiannis Haniotakis

An ever -increasing percentage British wishes to return the Parthenon sculpture In Greece, according to a new poll demonstrating a significant change in the attitude of British public opinion. The findings also reveal that almost one in three citizens supports the return of all antiquities that were transferred to Britain from other countries.

As the Timesthe poll, which took place in late August, reveals the strengthening of the tendency to return the sculptures to Greece, 220 years after they were transferred to the country by the Parthenon. It is indicative that support for their return is broad and intermittent, as about half of the Conservatives and Reform Party voters agree that sculptures should leave the British Museum and return to Athens.

In the context of the investigation, conducted on behalf of the Parthenon Project, campaigning for their return, three -quarters of respondents said they would support the sculpture mission to Greece during the great renovation of the British Museum of 1 billion. This project will also include the closure of the Duveen Room, where they are exhibited today.

When participants were asked to answer how to vote in a hypothetical referendum, 56% were in favor of the return, while only 22% supported their stay in London. These rates show a clear increase in support for last year’s survey, where the corresponding rate was 53%.

For its part, the British Museum continues to seek an agreement on “borrowing” the sculptures. Museum President George Oborn has expressed hope for a collaboration that will allow the sculptures to be exposed to the Acropolis Museum, in return for lending other Greek antiquities in London. However, the Museum’s supervisors are bound by the 1983 national heritage law, which prevents them from granting definitive objects of his collections. At the same time, successive British governments have made it clear that they do not intend to change the law.

The fate of the sculptures, which was removed by Lord Elgin from Ottoman -occupied Greece in the early 1800s and later sold to the British government, continues to provoke strong confrontations. Indeed, a group of academic and politicians, including former Prime Minister Liz Trars, sent a letter to the Museum this year, inviting him to stop the “closed doors of negotiations, led by ideology and personal ambitions”.

Commenting on the results of the poll, Lord Vaiz, a member of the Conservatives and a co -chair of the Parthenon Project, said: “Support for the return of the Parthenon sculptures is not limited to a part of society – perpetuated ages, areas and political beliefs. Our institutions should feel encouraged by this research and lead with the same clarity and moral purpose as the British people. “

Baroness Deboner, a member of the Labor and also a co -president of the Parthenon Project, added that the return of the sculptures could be “the basis of a positive, long -term cultural cooperation between Britain and Greece”, describing it as a “mutually beneficial solution”.

The research showed, finally, that 30% of Britons believe that the country’s museums “should return all historically stolen, looted or controversial antiquities in their countries of origin”, with only 11% claiming that all objects should remain in Britain.