The new political landscape shaped by the first four polls conducted after the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) is being interpreted differently by each party’s headquarters, with each reading the numbers through the lens of their own expectations and strategy. Cautious optimism prevails at the Maximos Mansion, primarily because New Democracy appears to be holding firm at around 30% — a figure considered a springboard for an outright parliamentary majority. Smiles have also returned to PASOK’s headquarters on Charilaou Trikoupi Street, as the party sees encouraging signs of recovery. By contrast, concern dominates within ELAS, Alexis Tsipras’s party, over its stagnation around 16% — well below the 20% target the party had set for itself. Meanwhile, SYRIZA is experiencing what can only be described as endless gloom, polling below the parliamentary threshold and even trailing behind MeRA25. The same bleak picture applies to Elpida, the party of Maria Karystianou, which is witnessing a polling collapse, having lost roughly half of its voters in just two and a half months.
Read also: Marc & MRB polls: New Democracy maintains steady lead, ELAS consolidates second place — How citizens evaluate the TIF announcements (Tables & Video)
Polls: New Democracy well ahead of the competition
It is worth noting that nearly one in three citizens prefers a New Democracy majority government, according to the latest Marc poll conducted for ANT1, while the ruling party maintains a commanding lead over ELAS. In terms of voting intention, New Democracy is recorded at 31%, followed by ELAS at 16%, PASOK at 11.5%, Greek Solution at 7.2%, KKE (Communist Party) at 6.8%, Pleusi Eleftherias at 5.5%, as well as Elpida, Voice of Reason at 3.5%, MeRA25 at 3.2%, SYRIZA at 1.6%, Spartans at 1.4%, NIKI at 1.3%, Democrats at 1%, while 4.5% stated they would vote for “another party.” Regarding the political leaders’ appearances at the TIF, Kyriakos Mitsotakis received positive ratings from approximately 35.7% of respondents, Alexis Tsipras satisfied 20.6%, and Nikos Androulakis scored 15%. Also of interest is the data concerning Samaras’s party, as its minimum polling figure — with 3.1% saying they would “definitely vote for it” — is sufficient to secure entry into parliament.
In the Opinion Poll survey conducted for Action 24, voting intention figures show New Democracy at 31%, ELAS following at 15.9%, PASOK at 12.1%, Greek Solution at 7.3%, KKE at 6.8%, Pleusi Eleftherias at 5.4%, Elpida at 4.8%, Voice of Reason at 3.3%, MeRA25 at 2.5%, SYRIZA at 1.8%, Spartans at 1.3%, Democrats also at 1.3%, NIKI at 1.1%, and New Left at 0.5%, while 4.8% indicated they would vote for “another party.”
In the Pulse poll conducted for Skai, using a hypothetical scenario distributing undecided voters, New Democracy gathers 30.5%, ELAS 17%, PASOK 12%, Greek Solution 8.5%, KKE 7%, Pleusi Eleftherias and Elpida 5.5% each, Voice of Reason 3.5%, MeRA25 3%, and SYRIZA 2.5%. In the MRB poll for Open, with results extrapolated to the total electorate, the figures stand at 29% for New Democracy, 17.4% for ELAS, and 12.4% for PASOK. These are followed by Greek Solution at 9.4%, KKE at 6.7%, Elpida at 5.2%, Pleusi Eleftherias at 3.9%, Voice of Reason at 3.8%, MeRA25 at 2.3%, Democrats at 1.6%, and SYRIZA at 1.2%. “Other parties” collectively account for 7.1%.
Government satisfied, smiles return to PASOK headquarters
Within the government, there is satisfaction with the upward trajectory, with voting intention figures starting with a “3,” as well as with the finding that citizens trust Kyriakos Mitsotakis more than Alexis Tsipras or Nikos Androulakis to deliver on the policy measures he announced — all three having presented their respective party programs at the TIF. At the Maximos Mansion, the assessment is that tangible benefits will materialize gradually, once citizens see and feel the impact of these measures in their own pockets.
At the same time, smiles have well and truly returned to PASOK’s headquarters on Charilaou Trikoupi Street, as the party observes the polling needle moving upward and sees itself narrowing the gap with ELAS. As for Tsipras’s party, the only consolation is maintaining second place overall, though it is becoming increasingly clear that ELAS cannot break through the psychological barrier of 20%, while the gap separating it from PASOK continues to shrink — a development that is once again fueling talk of an all-out battle for second place.
Originally published in Apogevmatini
