Poll shows most Greeks gloomy, ND far ahead of SYRIZA

More than eight in 10 Greeks are unhappy with the government’s performance, according to a new opinion poll which puts the conservative opposition New Democracy 14 percentage points ahead of leftist SYRIZA, which leads the ruling coalition.

The survey, which was carried out by the University of Macedonia on behalf of Skai, found that 30.5 percent of respondents would vote for ND if general elections were held now compared to just 16.5 percent for SYRIZA.

Retaining its position in third place is the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, whose MPs are on trial for running a criminal organization. PASOK and the Communist Party garnered 6.5 percent apiece while Union of Centrists and the anti-austerity Sailing for Freedom party attracted 2.5 percent of the vote each, just short of the 3 percent threshold for entering Parliament. 

Centrist Potami and right-wing Independent Greeks, which shares power with SYRIZA, were seen polling at 2 percent apiece with just 1 percent for Popular Unity, another leftist anti-austerity party.

As regards the best choice for prime minister, ND leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis was backed by 33.5 percent of respondents compared with 20 percent for premier Alexis Tsipras.

In answers to questions about daily life, most respondents were gloomy. A total of 86.5 percent said they were dissatisfied with the performance of the current government. The rate of discontent was high among SYRIZA supporters too, with 72.5 percent saying they weren’t happy with the achievements of Tsipras’s administration.

Overall, nine in 10 (88 percent of respondents) said they believed things were generally moving in the wrong direction, with seven in 10 (72 percent) saying they believed this year would be worse than 2016.