'If a Muslim MP might give information to [Turkey], from where migrants can enter the country, why should he not be checked [surveilled]? Here national security takes precedence.'
The poll, commissioned by powergame.gr, gave ND 30.8 percent, SYRIZA 22.8 percent, and centre-left PASOK-KINAL 12.6 percent
PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis distanced himself from past declarations that he will not settle for anything less than ND single-party rule and left open the prospect of a coalition government.
The PM stressed that the twin energy and inflationary crises are a global phenomenon and that there should be a coordinated EU-wide approach in dealing with them.
Amidst SYRIZA’s constant calls for snap elections, 63 percent of respondents oppose that prospect. The majority of respondents favour single-party New Democracy rule, and if that is not feasible a New Democracy-KINAL coalition.
One of the sins of [recently sacked ex-agriculture minister] Spilios Livanos and [Sparta mayor and former ND minister] Petros Doukas was that they broke – laughing and in a carefree manner] the code of silence surrounding the Karamanlis government.
Doukas said that the ND government, of which he was a member, after the deadly 2007 Ilia wildfire, was trailing in the polls before the general election but turned the tables by handing out money right and left - compensation [3,000 euros] for the fire-stricken.
The polling numbers of both New Democracy and Syriza have declined over the last six months precisely due to KINAL’s rise after its new leader, Nikos Androulakis, was elected in December. New Democracy has lost four percentage points since September.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis won the 2019 general election based on the expectation that he would change the country. That was his pledge and it fuelled expectations among the majority of voters.
If New Democracy does not secure single-party rule, the PM will lead the country to a second general election with an electoral law that gives the first party a bonus of a few dozen parliamentary seats.
The poll indicates that the election of KINAL-PASOK’s new leader, Nikos Androulakis, has substantially boosted the party’s polling numbers and has stirred concerns in ruling ND and main opposition SYRIZA.
As for the reaction to the recent election of KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis, 67.1 percent of respondents viewed it as a positive development for KINAL, while 51.3 percent consider that it will lead to a restructuring of Greece’s political terrain.
When asked which party would you prefer to be elected in the next general election, whenever it may be held, New Democracy was picked by 35.8 percent of respondents (39 percent in June), and SYRIZA was named by 29.7 percent (31.1 percent in June).
Mitsotakis in public statements has downplayed the significance of traditional ideological labels, questioning even the utility and substance of the word “progressive” – invoked by both main opposition SYRIZA and the centre-left Movement for Change.
A large majority of respondents expressed approval for Greece’s recent defence agreements with France and the US, especially for the accord with France that included a mutual defence pact.
Papandreou’s candidacy threw the electoral process into a tailspin, with one candidate (MP Vasilis Kegeroglou) withdrawing from the race and the other candidates feverishly revising their strategies and regrouping.
Main opposition SYRIZA slammed the government over the provision that after the five-year extension agreed to now, the MDCA will be automatically be renewed indefinitely, unless one of the parties withdraws from the agreement.
Since 2019, New Democracy has cemented its political predominance and SYRIZA has gradually grown weaker. That is recorded in every opinion poll and by any journalist who does his or her job properly.
'As long as I represent ND in this chamber such behaviour will not be tolerated!' Dendias declared after a very loud, heated attack on Bogdanos’ exploitation of Civil War divisions.
The overall picture is pessimistic, with 49 percent saying that economic conditions will worsen over the next months, and only 25 percent expecting improvement.