Greek Opposition Overtakes Ruling Party in Polls After New Leader Election

A poll indicated 21.3 percent support for New Democracy (ND) party against 18 percent for Syriza after Mitsotakis’ victory in Greece, according to the survey.

ATHENS (Sputnik) – The election of the Greek center-right opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader confirms a shift in the country's political landscape and the decline of the ruling Syriza party, local media reported on the latest opinion polls.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis was picked to lead ND last week on a platform of agreeing with the proposals of Greece’s international creditors and standing against the "populism of the incompetent government."

A poll conducted by Alco indicated 21.3 percent support for ND against 18 percent for Syriza after Mitsotakis’ victory, the Greek Proto Thema newspaper that commissioned the survey reported Saturday.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza has lost nearly half of its support since September, when 35.46 percent of the voters backed it.

Greece’s Communist Party (KKE) rounds out the top three at 5.4 percent, followed by the ultra-right Golden Dawn at 5.2 percent. Center-left PASOK-DIMAR Democratic Coalition has garnered 3.1 percent, while Syriza’s breakaway Popular Unity placed last at 1.3 percent.

Syriza’s loss of support is largely seen as a consequence of succumbing to international creditors’ austerity demands in exchange for billions in bailout. The leftist party campaigned in January 2015 on a platform of eradicating austerity.