ND and PASOK popularity is in free fall, poll shows

SYRIZA is gaining rapidly on bigger political rivals as dissatisfaction grows

PASOK leader George Papandreou speaks at a worker’s conference yesterday. A Public Issue poll indicates that support for his party is dwindling and that some supporters are switching their allegiance to the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA). Support for the government has also weakened. Papandreou was reelected as PASOK leader in November after beating off a challenge from MPs Evangelos Venizelos and Costas Skandalidis.

The approval levels for Greece’s two main political parties have reached a new low as the support for PASOK in particular continues to plummet, according to the results of a poll conducted for Kathimerini and Skai TV and radio.

Just five months after the general election, only 19 percent of people questioned are satisfied with the job that the government is doing. New Democracy’s approval rate was 31 percent last March.

PASOK has experienced a similar drop in its approval rate over the last 11 months, hitting a new low of just 5 percent this month.

If elections were held today, New Democracy would receive 38.5 percent of the popular vote and PASOK 35 percent, according to the Public Issue survey.

The big winners would be the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), which would more than double its share to 11.5 percent and become Greece’s third-largest party.

Alexis Tsipras was voted the party’s new leader on Sunday and the 33-year-old appears to be riding a wave of popularity at the moment, particularly among young voters.

Support for SYRIZA in the 25-34 age group stands at 19 percent, compared to 26 percent for PASOK and 35 percent for New Democracy.

SYRIZA also appears to have become the most popular party across the board. When asked to whether they have a positive or negative view of specific parties, regardless of their own political beliefs, 55 percent of some 1,000 respondents said that they had a positive opinion of SYRIZA. This compared to 40 percent who see New Democracy with a positive eye and only 31 percent who have a good opinion of PASOK.

In fact, 59 percent of those questioned believe that the breakup of PASOK is a real possibility.

The popularity of the party’s leader George Papandreou has also dipped, with only 20 percent of voters appearing to believe he is the best candidate for prime minister. Almost half believe the current premier, Costas Karamanlis, is the best man for the job.