Poll gives ND 7-point lead over SYRIZA

A new opinion poll released Friday, 9 days ahead of the May 21 election, shows ruling New Democracy leading main opposition SYRIZA by 7 points in voting intentions.

In the poll by research company Metron Analysis, commissioned by TV station Mega, 31.1% of the respondents said they would vote for New Democracy versus 24.1% picking SYRIZA. The socialist PASOK comes third, at 8.9%, followed by the Communist Party (KKE), with 6.3%.

In the previous Metron Analysis survey, New Democracy led SYRIZA by 6.3 percentage points (29.3% to 23%), with PASOK at 8.9% and KKE at 5.5%.

Metron Analysis estimates that the actual vote, excluding spoiled and blank ballots, will be: New Democracy 36.2% and 121 MPs in the 300-member Parliament; SYRIZA 28.0% (94 MPs); PASOK 10.3% (34); KKE 7.4% (25); the leftist MeRa25 4.4% (15); and right-wing nationalist Greek Solution 3.3% (11).

More people disapprove than approve of the ruling party, 54% to 38%, but SYRIZA fares worse (73% to 21%).

Asked whether they prefer a coalition government or a single party one, voters are split, with 50% choosing a single party government against 47% who prefer a coalition.

No single party is expected to win an outright parliamentary majority, but, if the results of the opinion poll are accurate, a New Democracy/PASOK coalition would be possible. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has made clear his preference for ruling alone, hoping that a second election, in July, under a different electoral system, will give New Democracy the majority.

Asked if the country is going in the right direction, 54% of the respondents said no and 39% yes. In an early March poll by Metron Analysis, fresh after the Feb. 28 rail disaster, when 57 people died after two trains collided, 68% had said no, versus 26% who had responded yes.

The poll was conducted using a sample of 2,105, the largest so far in its surveys, Metron Analysis said.