A new nationwide poll has confirmed that former Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras’s newly formed ELAS party has moved ahead of PASOK to become Greece’s leading opposition force, although it remains well behind the governing New Democracy party.
The Pulse survey for Skai television, conducted between May 27 and 31, placed Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s New Democracy on 29.5 per cent, with ELAS trailing on 15.5 per cent.
PASOK ranked third with 11.5 per cent, narrowly ahead of rail safety campaigner and political newcomer Maria Karystianou’s centre-right Hope for Democracy party on 11 per cent.
The poll suggested a further five parties could clear Greece’s three per cent parliamentary threshold, including the Communist Party of Greece, Greek Solution, Course for Freedom and two smaller populist parties.
Tsipras’ former party, SYRIZA, recorded 2.5 per cent, below the level required for parliamentary representation.
When respondents were asked which leader was best suited to govern Greece, Mitsotakis led with 30 per cent support, followed by Tsipras on 17 per cent. PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis received seven per cent, while Karystianou polled six per cent.
The Pulse telephone survey questioned 1,108 people nationwide and carried a margin of error of 2.95 percentage points.
