New Democracy, the governing party led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has widened its lead over its closest rival to nine percentage points, according to a new opinion poll by Prorata published in the newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton.
The survey, carried out in September and released shortly after Mitsotakis unveiled a package of new measures at the Thessaloniki International Fair, put New Democracy on 25.5%, up half a point from 25% in the pollster's previous survey in July.
The Thessaloniki International Fair is an annual trade exhibition that has become a fixture of Greek political life, with the prime minister traditionally using a keynote address there to announce economic and social policy measures for the year ahead.
The party led by former prime minister Alexis Tsipras came second with 16.5%, gaining one point from 15.5% in July. PASOK finished third on 9%, up half a point from 8.5%.
The steepest fall was suffered by Hope for Democracy, the movement founded by Maria Karystianou, which dropped to 4.5% after losing four percentage points in two months, down from 8.5% in July. Karystianou became a prominent public figure following Greece's 2023 Tempi rail disaster before founding the movement.
Full breakdown of voting intention
Greek Solution, led by Kyriakos Velopoulos, also gained a point, rising to 8% from 7%. The Communist Party of Greece held steady on 6%.
According to Prorata, the remaining parties polled as follows: Foni Logikis 4%, Plefsi Eleftherias, led by former parliament speaker Zoi Konstantopoulou, 3.5%, MeRA25 3%, Syriza, the left-wing party Tsipras once led before it split from his current party, 1.5%, and Democrats 1%. Another 4% of respondents named a different party, while 12%, unchanged from July, said they remained undecided.
Reaction to Thessaloniki Fair announcements
Asked whether Mitsotakis's announcements at the fair would improve their daily lives, 17% of respondents said they would do so a lot or quite a lot, while 82% said little or not at all.
Asked the same question about the announcements Tsipras made at the fair, 29% said they would improve their daily lives, against 69% who disagreed.
On whether a Mitsotakis government would carry out what it had promised, 38% said it would implement almost all or quite a lot of its pledges, while 47% said little or almost nothing would be delivered. For a hypothetical Tsipras government, 59% expected little or almost nothing to be implemented, against 26% who took a positive view.
Trust in political leaders
Mitsotakis remains the public's preferred choice for prime minister, trusted by 27% of respondents. Tsipras followed 11 points behind on 16%. Velopoulos and PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis were further back on 6% each, while Karystianou and Konstantopoulou each polled 4%.
Cost of living tops voter concerns
The cost of living remained the single biggest concern, cited by 78% of those surveyed. Issues of justice, corruption and transparency followed on 44%, with low wages and working conditions on 25% and health on 21%.
Question over a Samaras-led party
The poll also asked how likely respondents would be to vote for a party led by Antonis Samaras, a former prime minister and New Democracy leader, at the next parliamentary election. Seventy-four percent said it was completely unlikely and ruled it out, 15% said it was not very likely but did not rule it out, 5% called it quite likely and 4% said it was very likely.
