The gap between New Democracy and SYRIZA stands at 6.4%, according to an MRB poll conducted from August 31 to September 5. The top concern among citizens is inflation and rising prices (63.6%), while wiretapping ranks eighth. The frontrunner for prime minister is Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Nikos Androulakis is seeing a rise in popularity. Detailed results of the MRB poll for Newsbomb.gr.
New Democracy’s support stands at 28.6% (compared to 29.1% in the previous poll conducted May 16–18, 2022). SYRIZA appears to be rising from 21.7% in the previous May poll to 22.2%. PASOK also shows a slight increase, rising from 11.8% to 12.1%. The KKE stands at 5.1%, Greek Solution at 4.5%, and MeRA25 at 4.1%. The «Greeks – National Party» led by Ilias Kasidiaris stands at 2%.
Decline for New Democracy, SYRIZA remains steady, rise for PASOK
With regard to voting intentions from November 2021 to the present, it appears that the gap has narrowed from 9.8 points to 6.4.
The New Democracy party's share of the vote has fallen from 32.3% to 28.6%. SYRIZA appears to be holding steady, as its support has fluctuated between 22.5% and 22.2% throughout this period, while PASOK is showing an upward trend, rising from 9.3% to 12.1%. After the relevant adjustments, the percentages are as follows:
-For the New Democracy party, from 31.6% to 37.4%
-For SYRIZA, from 24% to 29.4%
-For PASOK, from 12.4% to 16.8%
Voter Turnout
New Democracy and SYRIZA appear to be experiencing significant defections, mainly to KINAL. The New Democracy camp is losing 4.8% to Koumoundourou and 7.9% to Charilaou Trikoupi. Similarly, SYRIZA is losing 5.6 to New Democracy and 10 to PASOK.
Androulakis' Rise in Popularity
In the category regarding the popularity of political leaders, there do not appear to be any dramatic changes. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is in first place with a rating of 35.2%. He is followed by Alexis Tsipras with 33.5%, and Nikos Androulakis trails closely behind with 33.2%. Based on the previous two MRB polls, the PASOK president appears to have surged in popularity, rising from 30.1% in the first poll when he took the reins of the party, has now reached 33.2%.
Mitsotakis Ranks First in Suitability for Prime Minister
When asked which of the two (Mitsotakis or Tsipras) is better suited to be prime minister, the New Democracy president leads the SYRIZA president by 9.4 points. Kyriakos Mitsotakis garners 37.9% compared to 28.5% for Alexis Tsipras. It is worth noting, however, that 26.4% of respondents say «neither of the two.» It should be noted that in the previous poll by the same company, Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s lead was larger, standing at 12.1% ahead of Alexis Tsipras…
New Democracy Leads in the Victory Projections
New Democracy’s lead in the “who will win” poll is overwhelming (in response to the question: “Which party do you think will win the election?”). 46.5% of respondents believe New Democracy will win, while 21.9% say SYRIZA will win.
Public opinion is divided on coalition governments
Regarding coalition governments, it appears that the 25.8% scenario points toward a coalition government led by New Democracy (ND) with the participation of smaller parties. Specifically, 17.7% wants a New Democracy government with PASOK, and 8.1% wants a New Democracy government with some other small party (excluding SYRIZA and PASOK).
On the other hand, an equally high percentage—24.2%—favors a coalition government led by SYRIZA. Specifically, 17.1% wants a coalition government between SYRIZA and PASOK, and 7.1% would prefer a SYRIZA coalition government with smaller parties other than New Democracy and PASOK.
«No» to a technocrat prime minister
What citizens certainly do not want is a government led by a technocrat as prime minister. 51.4% does not want a scenario along those lines (25.9% strongly disagree and 25.5% somewhat disagree). Only 33.5% wants a technocrat as prime minister (21.4% somewhat agree and 12.1% strongly agree).
Problems for Citizens
The MRB poll makes it absolutely clear that the road to the polls is paved with… inflation. In response to the question, «Which current issues concern you the most?» inflation and rising prices dominate the public’s thoughts.
The question was posed as follows: «I’m going to read you a few topics, and I’d like you to tell me which two are the most important to you personally.» Based on the first and second responses (combined), the issue of accuracy is of concern to 86.1% of respondents. In practice, 65.8% of respondents rate it as the country’s number one problem. 24.8% are concerned about the course of the war in Ukraine and the impact it will have on our country.
23.7% are afraid of unemployment, 17.4% are concerned about Greek-Turkish relations, and 12.8% are concerned about the issue of surveillance. In essence, the issue of surveillance ranks eighth on citizens’ list of concerns, with a percentage of 2.5%. Very few, therefore, consider it an issue that substantially affects their daily lives.
Accuracy will determine the outcome at the polls
63.6% of respondents say their vote will be influenced by inflation. 7.1% will be influenced by unemployment, 6.1% by the impact of the war in Ukraine, 5.8% by developments in Greek-Turkish relations, and only 5.1% by the surveillance cases targeting PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis and journalist Thanasis Koukakis.
Households are struggling
Price increases clearly have a negative impact on households. It is indicative of the situation that a total of 63.3% report that they cannot meet their obligations at all or are having extreme difficulty doing so. 31.6% say they have been affected by rising prices but are still managing, while 2.8% report having no problems at all with inflation.
No Sanctions Against Russia
It is interesting to note that an overwhelming majority of respondents state that sanctions against Russia must be lifted, since they ultimately backfire on the people of Europe. In response to the question, «Should Europe abandon its hardline stance toward Russia and lift some of the sanctions?», 67.4% say they should be lifted (I agree or somewhat agree). Only 21.5% believe that the EU should continue this policy of economic sanctions against Russia.
Mishandling of the wiretapping scandal by the government
Although it will not have a decisive impact on their vote, 65.5% of citizens consider the issue of the wiretapping of PASOK-KINAL leader N. Androulakis’s cell phone to be fairly to very serious from a political standpoint. Only 27.2% consider the issue not at all or only slightly serious.
At the same time, it is particularly interesting that respondents view the government’s and Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s handling of this specific issue negatively. A total of 59.8% view the New Democracy party and K. Mitsotakis “somewhat” or “definitely” negatively, while only 22.9% rate the government “somewhat” or “definitely” positively.
Research Profile
