Former prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his closest aides believe that the battle for second place between his new party, Greek Left Alliance (ELAS), and the socialist PASOK is over, whenever the elections take place.
Given that it is highly improbable that the ruling and opinion-poll-leading New Democracy will gain enough votes to win an outright majority and that a second election might be necessary, in this second election, they believe, their party can rally those voters who want a change of government.
Do pollsters and pundits agree? Actually, they are divided.
Managing director of opinion survey firm Giorgos Arapoglou agrees with Tsipras: He notes that, immediately after the former PM’s party was announced, the first opinion surveys showed it in second place, with PASOK pushed down to third, or even fourth.
If a second wave of surveys shows similar results, with ELAS clearly in the lead, it will be difficult to reverse the result, he says.
