Athens - Greece's main opposition, the Socialist PASOK party, could earn enough support to form a government by itself in elections on October 4, according to survey results released Friday. It is the last survey expected before the elections.
With more than two weeks to go, PASOK, which is under the leadership of Giorgos Papandreou, has stretched its lead over the ruling conservative New Democracy party to more than 6 per cent, according to the poll conducted by Public Issue for Kathimerini newspaper.
The poll showed that support for Papandreou's Socialists had increased by 0.5 per cent since last week to 41.5 per cent. Backing for the centre-right New Democracy Party, led by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, has remained unchanged at 35.5 per cent.
The Communist Party is in third place with 8.5 per cent and the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) in fourth with 6 per cent. The Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) is on the edge of garnering enough support to get into Parliament with 4 per cent, while the Ecologists Greens are just below the threshold with 2.5 per cent.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, whose conservative government has been plagued by scandals and the worst rioting the country has seen in decades, has said he is seeking a fresh political mandate to deal with the difficult years ahead for the fragile economy.
By announcing snap elections, Karamanlis in September set his party on a difficult election campaign, continually lagging in polls.
A second poll carried out by MARC for Ethos newspaper showed the socialists to have a 7-percentage-point lead over the conservatives, with 36.7 per cent saying they would vote for the Socialists compared to 29.2 per cent for the conservatives.
The winner of the October 4 parliamentary vote will be faced with soaring public debt as the country faces its first recession in 16 years. Recent data showed nearly 18 per cent of 15-29 year old Greek workers to be unemployed in the second quarter, compared with 8.9 per cent for the whole population.
The conservative leader promised that, if he won his third mandate in almost six years, he would freeze public sector pay and appointments and continue privatizing state companies in an effort to cut public debt.
