By George Siakas*

The official article was published in the greek newspaper TA NEA.gr and you can read it (in greek), here.

Almost a year before the parliamentary elections, the political scene shows a consolidated picture without any particular changes. More specifically:

  1. New Democracy maintains the advantage over SYRIZA and the other parties. Public opinion surveys that have shown the light of publicity during the last year, give the same results. New Democracy has established its lead, which has remained double-digit and stable since the beginning of 2017.
  2. The image of the party system is solid. The strength of the other parties seems stable as well. Currently, the Golden Dawn and the Movement for Change (KA) are struggling for the third position.
  3. The government’s agreement with FYROM has had a greater impact on ANEL, operating at the level of the electoral base and the Parliamentary Group, despite the two major parties. SYRIZA did not show a significant downturn, nor did the New Democracy had an important gain. However, the main impact of the name dispute on the party system is not apparent yet . Its elevation particularly strengthens the right-wing voices of the system and it won’t be strange if current formations or even new ones appear based on this particular agenda.

*George Siakas is the Research Director of Public Opinion Research Unit.