A new — yet familiar — political rivalry between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Alexis Tsipras appears to be taking shape once again on the Greek political scene. The latest opinion polls — among the last before the summer recess — show New Democracy (ND) and the Hellenic Left Alliance (ELAS) occupying the top two positions, with ND maintaining a steady double-digit lead and ELAS firmly consolidating its second-place standing ahead of third-placed PASOK.
Read more: GPO poll for iefimerida: Steady lead for ND at 29.3%, ELAS stabilizes — PASOK on a downward trend
Polls: New Democracy and ELAS consolidate support — PASOK stuck in third
In the GPO poll conducted for iefimerida, New Democracy leads with 29.3% (down just 0.1% from the previous survey), while ELAS holds second place with 16.6% (up 0.3%). PASOK follows in third with 10.8%, recording a 0.7% drop compared to the same pollster’s previous measurement.
Both New Democracy and the Hellenic Left Alliance are showing signs of rallying their bases, according to data from a Pulse poll conducted for SKAI. Compared to Pulse’s previous survey, Tsipras’s party narrowed the gap with New Democracy by one percentage point. However, the gap remains substantial — the ruling party holds a 13-point lead over ELAS (30% vs. 17%), while PASOK appears to have stagnated at around 11%.
On the question of who is most suitable to serve as prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis scores 30% of positive responses, with Alexis Tsipras in second place at 17%.
MRB’s July trends also show New Democracy leading at 29% on aggregate, maintaining its strength compared to the December survey, when it recorded 29.2%. ELAS comes in second at 17.6% (the party did not yet exist and was therefore not measured in the December 2025 trends), while PASOK finishes third at 11.1% — a loss of three percentage points compared to December (14.1%).
The government is banking on the Mitsotakis–Tsipras confrontation
Government insiders are actively fuelling this political confrontation, calculating that, when election time comes, it can drive the voter consolidation they need and draw the comparisons they are seeking.
Mitsotakis: “Populism is back, promising simplistic solutions”
Responding last Friday morning to an urgent parliamentary question from Nikos Androulakis on the cost of living, during Prime Minister’s Question Time, Mitsotakis once again chose to make an indirect but unmistakable reference to Tsipras. “The cost of living is becoming a battleground everywhere, with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome. At the same time, however, it is also becoming a new front in the fight against populism — which is returning to promise simplistic solutions to complex challenges. Fortunately, though, Greece in 2026 is a very different country from what it was in 2019,” the prime minister said in a pointed aside during his address.
Marinakis hits back at Tsipras over F-35s and ELAS National Council
On Monday, during his briefing with political correspondents, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis responded to Tsipras’s accusations of a “national defeat” over the F-35 fighter jet issue, stating among other things that “this is one of the most striking examples of Mr. Tsipras lying without any inhibition in a nationwide broadcast. It is not the first time, and it clearly will not be the last, but it is one of the most characteristic instances — especially on national issues, on matters of defence procurement. It is the very definition of presenting something black as white.” He also noted that “during all the years Mr. Tsipras served as prime minister — all four and a half years — Turkey was not only a customer for the F-35s, but also a co-producer.” When asked about the ELAS National Council, Marinakis commented that “a cursory glance at those names reveals that more than half — significantly more than half — were SYRIZA officials, members, or candidates.”
Hatzidakis: “Tsipras is back with the same rhetoric and the same people”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis also levelled criticism at Alexis Tsipras in a radio interview. “Mr. Tsipras is coming back much the same as before — same style, same polling numbers. He is making an effort to appear different. But he is returning with the same aggressive, nihilistic rhetoric, the same handout politics, and largely the same cast of figures. And PASOK is busy playing the role of SYRIZA. We know exactly how credible these parties are,” Hatzidakis said on Alpha Radio.
