Poll confirms ND lead, puts Democratic Alignment third

A new opinion poll carried out by the University of Macedonia on behalf of Skai found that conservative New Democracy maintains a strong lead over ruling leftist SYRIZA, but Democratic Alignment (formerly PASOK) – apparently boosted by a leadership contest over the weekend – has risen to third place, knocking neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, which has been the third most popular party consistently in polls for years, down to fourth.

The poll found that 30.5 percent of respondents expressed support for ND, compared to 18.5 percent for SYRIZA, with Democratic Alignment garnering 8.5 percent and GD on 7 percent.

The poll results came out a few hours after PASOK leader Fofi Gennimata won Sunday’s runoff elections for the leadership of a new center-left party that has yet to be named.

The same poll found that 86 percent of respondents believe the social dividend pledged by the government to Greeks on low incomes, and voted through Parliament on Monday, was the result of excessive increases to income tax.