Poll: SYRIZA continues to lose voter preference, new leader is not the solution

The latest opinion poll showed that the popularity of the main opposition party Syriza continued to fall in voter preferences, falling 5.1 percentage points below the 18 percentage point achieved in summer elections.

One reason is that the party’s new leader Stefanos Kasselakis has proven to be an unacceptable figure for Syriza’s electorate, and his open “civil war” with the “old guard” within the party has caused many left-wing voters to turn away from the party – at least for now.

According to a survey conducted by GPS and commissioned by Star TV, respondents said they would vote for:

• New Democracy 36.6%
• SYRIZA 12.9%
• PASOK/KINAL 11.9%
• Communist Party of Greece (KKE) 8.5%
• Populist “Greek Solution” 5.4%
• Far-right “Spartans” 3.5%

Another far-right party, Niki, which has a Christian-fundamentalist bias, will again not be represented in parliament, gaining 2.5% of the vote, as will the populist left-wing party Sail for Freedom (2.3%).

When asked who is best suited to become Prime Minister, respondents chose current Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (48.0%), Socialist leader Nikos Androulakis (13.8%) and new SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis (12.1%) , and 18.1% answered “no one.”

Mitsotakis is the only political leader for whom favorable ratings barely exceed unfavorable ones (50.4% to 49.1%). He is closely followed by Dimitris Koutsoumbas from the Communist Party (47% in favor, 48.3% against). Followed by Androulakis (41.5% vs. 54.5%), Zoe Konstanthopoulou from Freedom Course (31.7% vs. 64.6%), Kasselakis (24.3% vs. 70.5%) and Kyriakos Velopoulos from “Greek decision” (22.9% versus 73.4%), and the top three are completed by “Spartans” and “Niki”.

When asked where Kasselakis fits into the political spectrum, respondents responded as follows:

• 6.1% – left
• 17.4% – center-left
• 15.6% in the center
• 17% – right of center
• 14.3% – right
• 20.2% answered: “none of the above.”

These results give rise to fierce critics of Kasselakis within the party, who accuse him of lacking a coherent ideology and of trying to take Syriza to the left. However, among Syriza voters alone, 77.7% think the party is moving in the right direction under his leadership, while 76.2% say critics are not promoting party unity. A slight majority (48.6%) said Kasselakis’ opponents should remain in the party and criticize, while 43% said they should leave.

The survey was published on October 25, 2023.

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