The latest monthly poll by the Pulse firm, amid the global coronavirus pandemic and with Greece in a virtual “lockdown”, shows strong support for the months-old conservative government and overwhelming approval of its handling of the crisis so far.
Presenting on the primetime newscast of Skai television, the monthly poll gives ruling New Democracy (ND) party a 23-percentage point lead over leftist SYRIZA, which was in power up until early July 2019.
ND is preferred by 45 percent of respondents, to 22 percent for SYRIZA. No other party received more than 5.5 percent, with the social democrat KINAL grouping a distant third with that percentage.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is also apparently seeing a surge in his voter approval ratings, leading his SYRIZA rival, ex-premier Alexis Tsipras, by 53 percent to 22 percent in the category of “most capable” for prime minister.
On the Covid-19 “front”, 82 percent of respondents said the government’s handling of the crisis so far has been positive or probably positive, including a 78-percent figure for respondents identifying themselves as SYRIZA voters.
Asked about a bevy of restrictions on the non-essential movement in public, in tandem with the closing of various businesses and institutions, 86 percent of respondents were favorable; while 10 percent answered they were negative or probably negative.
