New Democracy Opens Gap On SYRIZA

With international aid pouring in, investor confidence rising, and tourists returning in record numbers, the major opposition party Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA)’s anti-austerity message is losing its edge with the party falling further behind the ruling New Democracy  (ND) Conservatives of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, three polls show.
The bad news for all the parties was the level of disaffection and with one survey showing that while the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn is a solid third behind ND and SYRIZA, that 68 percent of Greeks believe it is getting too influential and they are anxious about its reputation for violence, which critics said is aimed mainly at immigrants.
A survey by GPO pollsters for Mega TV released on May 28 showed ND with 21.3 percent, 1.8 percent ahead of the SYRIZA party led by Alexis Tsipras, whose rants against pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions are apparently wearing thin.
Two polls published on by agencies RASS and ALCO showed Samaras’ conservatives leading by as much as 2.8 points, up from about 1 point last month, the biggest lead since last year’s close elections which Samaras won, but without enough of the vote to form a government, forcing him to create a coalition including his otherwise rivals, the PASOK Socialists and the tiny Democratic Left (DIMAR).
Samaras is apparently benefiting from following the orders of international lenders who in return have rewarded Greece with continued bailouts that are keeping the economy from failing, preventing Greece from being forced out of the Eurozone and leaving Tsipiras with little wiggle room to complain, despite a deep recession in which a record 27 percent of Greeks are unemployed – not  counting another 400,000 for whom year-long benefits have expired.
What could hurt the government, however, is Samaras’ backing away from an anti-racism bill that would increase penalties for attacks, ban the Hitler salute and provide penalties for denying the Holocaust, all hallmarks of Golden Dawn.
After inconclusive talks on the bill PASOK chief Evangelos Venizelos said he would not back down from harsher penalties.  “We have a political formation which is blatantly Nazi,” he said. “It’s our international dut y.. .to have full-fledged legislation against pro-Nazi and violent, racist behavior.” Samaras said there are enough laws against racism, but SYRIZA said he is coddling Golden Dawn and supports its anti-immigrant stance.
That came as another poll showed fear of Golden Dawn, which had about 10 percent, and with more than two-thirds of Greeks believing it is a threat to democracy.
Just over 41% said that legislative changes were a better way to go after the neo-Nazi party. Opinion was split on whether the country needs a new anti-racism law, with 50.2% saying it does and 44.4% saying it does not. Polls show PASOK running fourth at on 6.7%, followed by the  Independent Greeks with 6.4%, the Communist Party (KKE) with 5.8% and the Democratic Left (DIMAR) at 5%.