Reuters
June 11, 2011
Greece's conservative opposition New Democracy party has widened its opinion poll lead over the ruling Socialists, who are struggling to muster popular support for new austerity measures, a new survey indicated on Saturday.
The fall in support for Prime Minister George Papandreou's PASOK party could complicate his push to implement a new five-year package of austerity steps negotiated with its international lenders last month.
Assuming elections were held at once, the poll gave New Democracy 31 percent against 27 percent for PASOK, which was down five points in a month.
It indicated that New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras had drawn level with Papandreou in personal popularity for the first time since the election in 2009. Each had the support of 23 percent, with 55 percent preferring neither. In May, Papandreou led Samaras by 33 percent to 22.
"Support for the ruling PASOK party and the prime minister is falling, and is leading to a rapid change in the political scene," Yiannis Mavris, head of the polling agency Public Issue, wrote in an analysis for the newspaper Kathimerini.
PASOK's support has declined steadily since Papandreou's government accepted a 110 billion euro bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund last year and embarked on a belt-tightening campaign to save Greece from default.
Protesters take to the streets almost daily, a trend that increased this month after the government announced new austerity measures for 2011 after an upward revision of last year's budget deficit, and weaker-than-forecast revenues for this year, caused it to miss its fiscal targets.
Unions plan a nationwide strike for Wednesday.
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