Poll shows PM, gov’t popularity in free fall

The popularity of Greece’s left-wing prime minister is in free fall, according to a poll published late yesterday which also showed opposition New Democracy extending its lead over ruling SYRIZA party to 15 points.

According to the poll by the University of Macedonia for Skai TV, support for the conservatives is now at 30 percent, which reflects a rise of 1.5 points from last month’s survey, while SYRIZA is on 15 percent, one point down from last month.

Golden Dawn was in third place on 7 percent, followed by the Greek Communist Party (KKE) on 5.5, PASOK on 4.5, the Union of Centrists on 3 and Sailing for Freedom right on 3 percent, which is the threshold for entering Parliament. The poll found that To Potami, Independent Greeks, Antarsya and Popular Unity would not secure enough votes to enter the House.

The same survey indicated a big majority was unhappy with the work of the SYRIZAIndependent Greeks coalition. Eighty-nine percent said they were “disappointed” by its performance, a perception shared by 79 percent of SYRIZA voters. Accordingly, 87 percent of respondents said that “things are moving in the wrong direction.”

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s status has also suffered serious damage, the survey found. Only 20.5 percent said he is the most suitable political leader for the position of prime minister while conservative chief Kyriakos Mitsotakis was picked by 37 percent.

In terms of popularity, Tsipras ranked in seventh place, trailing most other leftist leaders, including Zoe Constantopoulou, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, and Vassilis Leventis. Only Panos Kammenos, Tsipras’s nationalist coalition partner, and neofascist leader Nikos Michaloliakos were found to be less popular.