New poll gives opposition 6.3 pct lead over SYRIZA

A new poll by Kappa Research published on Saturday has given New Democracy a 6.3 percent lead over governing SYRIZA, with 22.8 percent of respondents saying they would vote for the conservative opposition and 16.5 for the leftist party.

The poll, conducted for Vima newspaper’s weekend edition, put ultranationalist Golden Dawn in third place with 6.5 percent, followed by PASOK at 5.5 percent and the Greek Communist Party at 5.2 percent. Centrist To Potami, nationalist Independent Greeks and the Union of Centrists all polled below the 3-percent threshold needed to enter Parliament, with 1.8, 2.2 and 2.5 respectively. The results are based on the answers given by 72.1 percent of respondents, as 27.9 said they remain undecided.

Asked which party they believed more likely to win if snap polls were called in the near future, 61 percent responded New Democracy and 21 percent SYRIZA, while 23.5 percent believe conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis to be the more suitable candidate for prime minister, compared with 18 percent who support incumbent Alexis Tsipras.

However, 40 percent believe that elections should take place soon, against 46 percent who said that the present government should be given more time.

Greeks still appear to support the eurozone, though marginally as 49.5 percent of respondents said they would like to see the common currency area continue, against 47 percent who said they would like to see it end. Likewise, 45.5 percent believe Greece is better off staying in the euro, while 42 percent think it would fare better with its own currency.

On a more pessimistic note, 65 percent of respondents foresee 2017 being worse from an economic standpoint than 2016.