ND given less than 10%-point lead over SYRIZA in latest poll

Ruling New Democracy (ND) party’s lead over main opposition SYRIZA party dropped below 10 percentage points, according to results in a latest opinion poll released on Monday.

The poll was conducted by the Alco firm and presented on the Athens-based Open television channel’s prime-time newscast.

Dissatisfaction with the center-right government’s handling of the recent wave of price hikes – mainly due to skyrocketing global energy rates – is deemed as responsible for the slight easing in the government’s approval ratings. For instance, 76 percent of respondents in the poll said measures to deal with higher inflation, in tandem with a reduction in property taxes, are insufficient.

The other highlight of the latest poll is the resurgence of the KINAL social democrat grouping, which is essentially the successor party of once dominant PASOK.

At the same time, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis still holds a comfortable lead in terms of who respondents’ trust most, and compared to his main rival, former leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras.

In terms of respondents’ preferences, center-right ND picked up 31.8 percent, compared to 22.2 percent for SYRIZA. KINAL returns to double-digit “territory” as well, with 14.1 percent of respondents favoring the party.

Another three smaller parties, all currently represented in Parliament, are given respondents’ support of above 3 percent, the threshold necessary for entering the legislature in a general election.

The undecided/no answer figure was calculated at 14.8 percent.