Support grows for newcomer
Popularity for the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) party, now headed by recently elected Alexis Tsipras, has increased according to two recent opinion polls which might signal a major change in Greece’s political landscape. Tsipras, who was recently elected at the relatively tender – for Greek politics – age of 33, became the youngest leader by far of the parties represented in parliament. Two polls showed that support for SYRIZA ranges from 10 to 14 percent, which is significantly up on the usual spread of 6 to 7 percent. According to a survey conducted by MRB, 10.6 percent of respondents said they intend to vote for Synaspismos with 29.1 percent and 25.8 percent choosing New Democracy and PASOK respectively. In a separate poll by ALCO, 14.3 percent said they would vote for SYRIZA, with the conservatives gathering 27.8 percent and 24.5 percent opting for the socialists. SYRIZA won just over 5 percent of the popular vote in last September’s general election and doubled its parliamentary seats to 14.
