(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Both the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and the New Democracy (ND) have gained popularity in Greece and are now tied, according to a poll by Kapa Research. 31.8 per cent of respondents would support the opposition PASOK in the next general election, while 31.1 per cent would back the governing ND.

Support for PASOK is up three points since August, while the ND has gained 1.8 points. The Coalition of the Radical Left (SYR) is third with 8.7 per cent, followed by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) with 7.3 per cent, and the People’s Orthodox Alarm (LAOS) with 4.5 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.

On Oct. 6, Greek finance minister George Alogoskoufis presented the 2009 budget to the legislature for discussion, and said the Karamanlis administration expects the economy to grow by 3.0 per cent next year. PASOK spokesman George Papaconstantinou dismissed the proposed plan, saying, "It is a tax collecting budget, which in no way leads the country out of a dead end. It does not put Greece on a development dynamic."

Polling Data

What party would you support in the next general election?

Source: Kapa Research
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,024 Greek voters, conducted in September 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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