Alexis Tsipras’ fledgling Greek Left Alliance, or ELAS, has displaced socialist PASOK as the country’s potential main opposition party, according to the first opinion poll conducted after the left-wing former prime minister launched his political comeback this week.
The poll published Friday also places rail safety activist Maria Karystianou’s new Hope for Democracy party in fourth place, drawing heavily from right-wing voters, treading on PASOK’s heels and ahead of the Communist KKE party and the populist right-wing Greek Solution.
Neither of the two new parties has so far had time to provide any meaningful details on its policy platform, beyond Tsipras’ bid to unite the largely unwilling left and center-left, and Karystianou’s slant to the anti-establishment right.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ conservative New Democracy still tops the electorate’s preference, albeit at an anemic 23.5%, according to the ALCO poll for the flash.gr website. Nevertheless, that’s 0.7 percentage points above ND’s rating from the previous ALCO poll, on May 11.
ND has long enjoyed roughly twice the ratings of the second most popular party – up to now PASOK – but with such a low score that were elections to be held now it would have minimal hope of a governing majority, and would probably fail to find a coalition partner.
