(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Greece’s governing party is clinging to the top spot in the country’s political scene, according to a poll by GPO released by Mega. 27.4 per cent of respondents would vote for the New Democracy (ND) party in the next general election, down 3.4 points since May.

The opposition Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) is a close second with 25.2 per cent, followed by the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYR) with 10 per cent, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) with 7.1 per cent, and the People’s Orthodox Alarm (LAOS) with 5.3 per cent.

In the March 2004 election, Kostas Karamanlis led the ND to victory, securing 165 seats in the Greek Parliament. PASOK had administered the government since January 1996. Current PASOK leader George Papandreou served as foreign minister under Kostas Simitis.

Greek voters renewed their Parliament in September 2007. Final results gave Karamanlis a second term in office, with 41.84 cent of the vote and 152 seats in the 300-member legislature. PASOK finished second, with 38.10 per cent and 102 lawmakers. In November, Papandreou defeated Evangelos Venizelos and Kostas Skandalidis in a special PASOK leadership ballot.

Following a meeting between Papandreou and leaders of the Greek tourism business board, PASOK spokesman George Papaconstantinou blamed the government for a weak tourist season this year, saying, "It was a bad summer for Greek tourism. It was a summer where it appeared that the attractiveness of our country decreased with the policies of the New Democracy party. [The government] introduced policies that led to a decrease in visits to museums and policies that turned tourists away due to high prices on the islands."

Polling Data

What party would you support in Greece’s next general election?

Source: GPO / Mega
Methodology: Interviews to 1,010 Greek adults, conducted in August 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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