PASOK has become something like a poodle: small and, as a result, insecure. It keeps barking constantly – not only at the government, which is, after all, part of its role – but also at the media and opinion polls.
The latest wave of complaints targets polling companies, triggered by results placing the main socialist opposition party in third position in voter preference. PASOK supports its criticism by drawing on past experience.
Polls predicted narrow margins in the 2015 bailout referendum and, in some cases, even a slight lead for the “Yes” camp. A week later, however, the “No” side prevailed with 61.3%. In the run-up to PASOK’s 2021 leadership elections, most polls projected Andreas Loverdos as the frontrunner; he ultimately came in third.
Pollsters were also significantly off in the 2023 national elections, estimating the gap between New Democracy and SYRIZA at 5-7 percentage points. In reality, it was 20 points in May and 24 in June. Zacharias Zoupis, research director at Opinion Poll, said that “polls show New Democracy winning between 33.5% and 36% in the (2024) European elections, ie above its 2019 levels,” in a February 2024 interview on Real FM. In May, it was noted in Kathimerini that “polls were the big loser of the parliamentary elections in Cyprus.”
