5.1%-point lead by ND over SYRIZA in latest opinion poll

The latest in a flurry of opinion polls in Greece – ahead of the May 21 general election – shows a 5.1-percentage point lead for ruling New Democracy (ND) over main opposition SYRIZA.The poll was conducted by the Rass firm and presented Monday evening on the newscast of Athens regional TV station Action24.

The breakdown is 28.2 percent for center-right ND; 23.1 percent for leftist SYRIZA and 11.4 percent for socialist PASOK. Another three lesser parties now in Parliament are also show as again exceeding 3 percent, the threshold needed in a general election (of valid votes) to enter the 300-MP legislature.

Once again, however, a newly established extreme right grouping headed by jailed one-time Golden Dawn lieutenant Ilias Kasidiaris is shown with support above 3 percent (3.5 percent). A supreme court ruling is pending on whether the latter party can stand in the general election.

The undecided vote, based on the poll results, is 11.8 percent.

Asked who they believe will be the first party past the poll in the upcoming election, regardless of their personal preference, 63.5 percent of respondents picked ND, to a mere 2 percent for SYRIZA.

In terms of who is more suitable for the premier’s post, incumbent Kyriakos Mitsotakis is preferred by 42.9 percent of respondents to 26.5 percent for former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, SYRIZA’s president. Nevertheless, the answer “neither of the two” is favored by 28.8 percent, coming in second.