New Democracy, the governing party led by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, climbed two percentage points to 30.6% in a new opinion poll conducted by GPO, following Mitsotakis's keynote address at the Thessaloniki International Fair.
The survey, presented on the main evening news bulletin of the STAR television channel, put ELAS, the party led by former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, in second place with 16%, up nearly a full point (0.9%) from the previous GPO poll in June. PASOK came third with 12.8%. The Hope for Democracy movement led by Maria Karystianou collapsed, shedding nearly seven percentage points in a few months to fall to 3.6%.
GPO analyst Antonis Papargyris presented the figures, describing them as a picture of the new political landscape taking shape after the summer break and ahead of national elections.
Vote estimate figures
On the poll's vote estimate measure, New Democracy rose to 30.6% from 28.6% in June. ELAS increased to 16% from 15.1%, and PASOK edged up to 12.8% from 12.4%.
Further down the table, Greek Solution polled 9%, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) 8.8%, Plefsi Eleftherias 4.9%, Foni Logikis 3.7%, and Karystianou's Hope for Democracy 3.6%, down sharply from 10.5% in the June poll. MeRA25 stood at 2.1%, New Left at 1.4%, SYRIZA at 1.3% and Niki at 1.2%.
Vote intention differs from vote estimate
GPO also recorded a separate figure known as vote intention, distinct from its vote estimate. Here New Democracy stood at 25.8%, up 0.8 points since June, ahead of ELAS on 13.5%, up 0.3 points, and PASOK on 10.8%.
The remaining parties polled as follows on vote intention: Greek Solution 7.6%, KKE 7.4%, Plefsi Eleftherias 4.1%, Foni Logikis 3.1%, Hope for Democracy 3%, MeRA25 1.8%, New Left 1.2%, SYRIZA 1.1% and Niki 1%.
Views on party economic programs
The same survey asked respondents whether they considered the economic programs unveiled by party leaders at the Thessaloniki fair to be costed and realistic. Of those polled, 44.6% said Mitsotakis's program met that standard.
By contrast, only 20.4% said the same of the program presented by Tsipras, against 68.4% who said it was neither realistic nor properly costed. PASOK's program fared only slightly better, with 24.9% calling it realistic and 58.6% disagreeing.
Background to the Thessaloniki fair
The Thessaloniki International Fair is an annual trade exhibition that has become the traditional stage for the Greek prime minister's keynote speech on economic policy each September. Opposition leaders customarily use the same event to unveil their own programs in the days that follow.
Tsipras is a former prime minister who previously led the SYRIZA party before founding ELAS. Karystianou, who leads the Hope for Democracy movement, also presented her program at this year's Thessaloniki fair.
PASOK is one of Greece's traditional governing parties, while the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and Niki sit further along the political spectrum. MeRA25 was founded by the economist Yanis Varoufakis.
