According to the latest poll conducted by the firm Alco for ‘Proto Thema’, the domestic political landscape is undergoing a deep shift compared to only seven months ago, as the profile of outgoing PM Alexis Tsipras has all but disintegrated in the wake of the third bailout plan his government negotiated, signed and delivered to Parliament for quick ratification.
The data shows that a large portion of the electorate, who identified as diehard supporters of Tsipras and SYRIZA in the 2015 January elections, are abandoning the leftist party in droves. According to the poll findings, 70 percent of respondents said the latest memorandum brought to Parliament by the Tsipras government is the worst out of the three passed by Parliament. The poll indicates a slight edge for SYRIZA in respondents’ voting preferences:
SYRIZA-22.6%
New Democracy (ND)-21.1%
Golden Dawn (GD)-6.3%
To Potami (The River)-5.1%
KKE (Greek Communist Party)-4.7%
ANEL (Independent Greeks)-2..4%
PASOK-4.1%
Popular Unity (Lafazanis)-4%
Enosi Kentroon (Center Union)-3%
79% of those asked replied that they were disappointed in Tsipras, compared to a mere 10% who expressed their satisfaction with the radical leftist politician’s performance during his short-lived reign. People have mostly lost trust in the former Greek PM, with a total of 76% showing their mistrust toward him (50% responded they did not trust him at all, and 26% said they barely trust him). Opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Evangelos Meimarakis recorded an identical number with Tsipras in the approval of the respondents.
Data on the satisfaction of those interviewed regarding the outgoing government’s performance is equally disheartening, as only 15% of the respondents said they were satisfied with the SYRIZA-ANEL government’s performance, in contrast to a whopping 77% who said they were disappointed. The interesting detail about this finding is that both SYRIZA and AN.EL supporters have also lost faith in their own parties, with 63% of SYRIZA voters disappointed with the government; and 59% of AN.EL voters dissatisfied.
48% of those polled blame the government for the exacerbation of the migration crisis, while 66% disagree with the former PM’s decision to hold snap elections. Tsipras’s decision to support a new memorandum in parliament was the factor that weighed most negatively in the minds of the electorate, according to the poll, with 57% of the total electorate voters (including 61% of SYRIZA supporters, and 75% of ANEL voters) believe his about face political turn was wrong. Finally, 70% of the respondents believe the 3rd memorandum bearing the signature of the SYRIZA-ANEL government is the worst of all.
