With the first round of the local government elections only ten weeks away and for European elections due a week later, the political environment in Greece is as complex and unpredictable as ever. Kapa Research conducted a study on behalf of To Vima, which shows that neither has the center left managed to recover and neither has SYRIZA been able to maintain a significant lead in the polls.
According to the study, which was focused in Attica and Central Macedonia, SYRIZA is ahead in the polls in the south, with New Democracy taking the lead in Central Macedonia. Perhaps more revealing though is that the newly-formed River party has drawn voters from PASOK, DIMAR and ANEL, while Golden Dawn has lost significant support in Macedonia.
Attica | Central Macedonia | |
New Democracy | 17.6% | 21.3% |
SYRIZA | 20.1% | 17.4% |
PASOK | 4% | 4.2% |
ANEL | 3.5% | 3.2% |
Golden Dawn | 7.2% | 6.9% |
DIMAR | 2.2% | 1.9% |
KKE | 6.3% | 5.4% |
River | 5.9% | 8.1% |
Ecologists/Greens | 1.4% | – |
LAOS | 1.3% | 1.3% |
EPAM | 1.1% | – |
Drasi | 1% | – |
Other | 2.1% | 4.4% |
White/blank | 2.9% | 1.8% |
Undecided | 23.4% | 24.1% |
The polls show that the center left parties have been unable to convince voters (as evident by PASOK and DIMAR’s collapse) and that the bailout dilemma is being replaced by “post-bailout” concerns, where the SYRIZA is lagging behind New Democracy. With a significant percentage of undecided voters though, there may be many more surprises to come.
Meanwhile, in the upcoming local elections, where not all parties decided to nominate a candidate, things are a bit clearer. In Athens, current mayor Giorgos Kaminis is ahead, followed by New Democracy and SYRIZA’s candidates Spiliotopoulos and Sakellaridis respectively. Golden Dawn’s Kasidiaris is third and Nikitas Kaklamanis is fourth, so a lot will depend on how New Democracy supporters will vote in the second round.
In Thessaloniki the current mayor Yannis Boutaris is the clear favorite, garnering wide support from voters from all parties, leaving New Democracy’s Kalafatis and SYRIZA’s Mitafidis way behind in the polls. The recent conviction of former mayor Papageorgopoulos may have put Thessaloniki voters off from political nominations.
Athens | Thessaloniki | ||
Kaminis | 25.8% | Boutaris | 42.3% |
Spiliotopoulos | 14.5% | Kalafatis | 22.7% |
Sakellaridis | 14.3% | Mitafidis | 9.2% |
Kasidiaris | 11.6% | Mattheopoulos | 3.2% |
Kaklamanis | 9.7% | Dellis | 3.1% |
Sofianos | 6.5% | Papageorgiou | 2.2% |
Kapernaros | 3.7% | E. Ioannidou | 1.9% |
Vallianatos | 1.9% | M. Ioannidou | 1.5% |
Other | 1.3% | Other | 1.3% |
Blank/white | 1.1% | Blank/white | 0.3% |
Undecided | 9.6% | Undecided | 12.3% |
As for the elections for regional governors, in Attica Yannis Sgouros has a small lead of SYRIZA’s Rena Dourou, while New Democracy’s candidate is trailing in third spot, while Golden Dawn MP Panagiotaros ranked sixth. In Central Madeconia New Democracy dominates the race, with the “rebel” ND member Tzitzikostas squaring off with the party’s official candidate Ioannidis. PASOK’s Bolaris ranked third, while Golden Dawn’s candidate barely made the cut with 2.1%.
Attica | Central Macedonia | ||
Sgouros | 23.9% | Tzitzikostas | 23.8% |
Dourou | 18.6% | Ioannidis | 18.5% |
Koumoutsakos | 12.2% | Bolaris | 10.6% |
Pafilis | 7.8% | Charalambidou | 9.4% |
Haikalis | 6.1% | Ziogas | 4% |
Panagiotaros | 5.1% | Chrysomallis | 2.1% |
Nikolopoulos | 3.4% | Tremopoulos | 2% |
Economou | 3.2% | – | |
Other | 1.2% | Other | 1.1% |
White/blank | 2.7% | White/Blank | 4.4% |
Undecided | 15.9% | Undecided | 24% |
