ND leads SYRIZA by 10 percentage points in new poll

A new opinion poll carried out by the firm Pulse for Skai puts conservative New Democracy 10 percentage points ahead of ruling leftist SYRIZA.

Asked who they would vote for if general elections were to be held now, 31.5 percent of respondents said ND and 21.5 percent said SYRIZA.

In third place was the center-left Movement for Change party with 8.5 percent followed by the far-right Golden Dawn with 8 percent.

The Communist Party followed with 6 percent.

Independent Greeks, which is the junior partner in the current ruling coalition, would fail to enter Parliament, according to the Pulse poll.

Six in 10 of those questioned (62 percent) said they believed the detention of two Greek soldiers in Turkey was "a very important issue" with half of respondents taking a negative view of the government's handling of the matter.

As for the Novartis bribe-taking claims, nearly four in 10 deemed that the broader discussion about alleged corruption benefited the government.