A poll released Tuesday shows Syriza neck and neck with the center-right New Democracy party-27.0 percent support to 27.5, respectively-putting into doubt Tsipras’ ability to return as prime minister.
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Among young Greeks in general, a recent poll published by the Ethnos newspaper showed that just 18.6 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds plan to back Syriza – a huge drop from January, when more than 30 percent in the equivalent age group supported the party.
Following behind are the Greek Communist Party (5.5 percent), mainstream socialist Pasok and Potami, at 5 percent.
After winning 36.4 percent of the vote in January elections, the party of former premier Alexis Tsipras narrowly failed to secure an absolute majority in parliament.
Earlier this week, two polls conducted for Greek media revealed that New Democracy party formally had a small lead over Syriza, in spite of Tsipras’s higher approval rating than New Democracy leader Evangelos Meimarakis.
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A previous survey by the same pollster on Sept. 12 had shown Syriza had a 0.5 percentage point lead. Newly-formed Popular Unity made up by Syrizas’ dissident parliamentarians had 4 percent. These people will be highly targeted in the last ditch efforts by both New Democracy and Syriza and are likely to swing the vote in favor of one or the other coming out victorious. In late June Tsipras reached a deal with Greece’s creditors, but surprised many European leaders by calling for a referendum on the bailout package.
