Greek main opposition party gains popularity as Greeks pessimistic about future

 If national elections in Greece were to be called next weekend, 33 percent of respondents would vote for New Democracy (ND), while only 15.5 percent would vote for the ruling Syriza party, according to a survey carried out for SKAI TV that aired Monday.

Meanwhile, nearly nine out of 10 participants remain pessimistic about the future, as 86 percent believe Greece is heading in the wrong direction, according to the latest opinion survey conducted by the University of Macedonia for the television station.

The survey comes on the heels of last week's EuroGroup meeting in Malta that ended with a promising result that Athens and its international creditors would soon close the second review of the third Greek bailout.

However, 73 percent of the poll respondents said the government was delaying talks with lenders to avoid political backlash.

According to the 2015 timetable, the second assessment of Greek's debt relief should have been completed by February 2016.

Despite the low ratings for Syriza, only 30 percent of respondents want snap elections. Thirty-eight percent of those polled said they would prefer the formation of a new ruling coalition from the current parliament with ND as a key partner. Meanwhile, 19 percent of respondents said they would like to see the current government to stay in office until the end of its term in autumn 2019.

The nationwide SKAI TV survey was conducted from April 6 to 8.

Source: Xinhua