With only a few days left until the polling centers open, any prediction seems risky.

The opinion polls suggest a fierce battle that will be fought until the very last moment and where every vote counts.

Despite the general feeling in the polls, where voters believe Mr. Tsipras will win, the public opinion researchers do not dare make such a prediction.

On the contrary they consider this to be a tie and speak of a resurgence of the two-party system, estimating that everything will be determined by the degree of abstention and Mr. Tsipras’ ability to convince, even at the final hour, disappointed voters from January who do not intend to vote.

It no coincidence after all that Mr. Tsipras is constantly appealing for a vote en masse and limitation of abstention.

It is clear that there is no guarantee that the disappointed SYRIZA supporters will vote.

As it would seem, the disheartening result of SYRIZA’s seven months in power has shaken many and the shock of fragmentation has shaken even more.

Indicatively, there are no more fervent proponents of SYRIZA in society, like in January. The election campaign as not defined by the enthusiastic mobilization of Mr. Tsipras’ supporters and voters, despite his major efforts, as he gives what appears to be a wholly personal battle.

On the other side, the public opinion researchers cannot hide their surprise over New Democracy’s performance, especially the ability of Mr. Meimarakis to unify his party and change the game to suit him.

He started off as the clear loser and now he is legitimately claiming the first place and is threatening to topple over Mr. Tsipras from his throne.

Mr. Meimarakis managed to communicate the inability of the new Left party to government the country and took advantage of the generalized insecurity in Greek society caused by the constant delays of SYRIZA’s leadership.

It is also critical to note that Mr. Meimarakis has demonstrated that the center-right faction has its roots in society and the ability to reform, in spite of its old party, feudal composition and family-based structure.

Above all though, it seems that its historic value is prevailing, which is something that Mr. Meimarakis took advantage of to the greatest effect in its most critical phase.

New Democracy did not fall apart like PASOK, on the contrary it found the way to stand on its two legs and present itself as the guarantor of the country’s European course.

As paradoxical as it may sound, the populist and unrefined Meimarakis offers greater guarantees regarding the country’s European course, than the elegant, younger and with recent European experiences Mr. Tsipras.

The latter is undermined by the pluralism in his party, the many voices that express SYRIZA and his party’s inability to integrate in European procedures over the past seven months.

In any case, although the elections seemed to be a walk in the park for Mr. Tsipras when they were announced, they have turned into a derby, a difficult and open showdown, the outcome of which nobody can safely predict.

Antonis Karakousis