PASOK has slipped further behind New Democracy, according to the latest poll for the newspaper Kathimerini and Skai by Public Issue, but elections would not yield an outright winner as dissatisfaction among voters is running high.

The survey indicated that support for PASOK has slipped almost four per cent since last month following the introduction of an emergency property tax and several other austerity measures.

This leaves the Socialists on 22.5 per cent. New Democracy is on 31.5 per cent, which if replicated in a general election would leave the conservatives well short of a majority. According to the projections, ND would gain between 134 and 145 seats in Parliament, depending on whether five or six parties make it into the House. PASOK would win between 57 and 71. PASOK’s slide has benefited the Communist Party (KKE) and the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), as well as the smaller Democratic Left, which was formed last year.

However, the general unhappiness with the state of Greek politics means that for the first time in a Public Issue poll, respondents rated parties and politicians as the country’s third-biggest problem after the economy and unemployment. Nine in ten voters say they are unhappy with the government but an equal amount say they are dissatisfied with New Democracy.

The dissatisfaction with Greece’s leading politicians is also visible in the low approval ratings for both Prime Minister George Papandreou and ND leader Antonis Samaras. Papandreou’s popularity has dropped seven percentage points to 23 per cent since last month, while Samaras saw his rating dropped two percentage points to 35 per cent. The country’s most popular political leaders are Popular Orthodox Rally’s Giorgos Karatzaferis and SYRIZA’s Alexis Tsipras, who tie on 38 per cent. Despite concerns about the government’s handling of the economic crisis, 53 per cent of those questioned said that Greece does not need elections, against 39 per cent that believe they are necessary.

Source: Kathimerini