Poll: SYRIZA drops further, challenged for second place

A new opinion poll shows a further drop for main opposition SYRIZA, which is now only a percentage point ahead of third-place, socialist PASOK.

The ruling New Democracy is way ahead, with voting intentions showing it getting almost triple the votes of second-place SYRIZA.

Specifically, the poll shows 36.6% of respondents voting for New Democracy, 12.9% for Syriza, 11.9% for PASOK, 8.5% for the Communist Party, 5.4% for hard-right populist Greek Solution and 3.5% for the extreme right Spartans. Another far right party, Niki, which has a Christian fundamentalist slant, would fail to be represented in Parliament again, with 2.5% of the vote intentions, as would populist left-wing Sailing for Freedom (2.3%).

Asked who is best suited to be Prime Minister, poll respondents chose current PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis (48.0%) over socialist leader Nikos Androulakis (13.8%) and new SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis (12.1%), while 18.1% respondent “none.”

Mitsotakis is the only political leader for whom favorable opinions outscore, barely, unfavorable ones (50.4% to 49.1%). He is closely trailed by the Communist Party’s Dimitris Koutsoumbas (47% favorable, 48.3% unfavorable). They are followed by Androulakis (41.5% versus 54.5%), Zoi Konstantopoulou of Sailing for Freedom (31.7% vs. 64.6%), Kasselakis (24.3% to 70.5%) and Greek Solution’s Kyriakos Velopoulos (22.9% to 73.4%), with the leaders of the Spartans and Niki bringing up the rear.

Asked where they would place Kasselakis on the political spectrum, 6.1% of the respondents say on the left, 17.4% on the center-left, 15.6% on the center, 17% on the center-right, 14.3% on the right and 20.2% responded “none of the above” giving credence to his vociferous critics within the party who accuse Kasselakis of having no discernible ideology and of trying to pull SYRIZA away from the left.

Among SYRIZA voters alone, however, 77.7% believe the party is moving in the right direction under his leadership and 76.2% say the critics do not contribute to party unity. A slight plurality (48.6%) say Kasselakis’ opponents should stay within the party and criticize while 43% said they must leave.

The survey was conducted by polling firm GPO for TV channel Star.