Tsipras’ ELAS surges to second place in first poll

Former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ newly launched Greek Left Alliance (ELAS) has emerged as Greece’s second-largest political force, overtaking PASOK in its first appearance in a national opinion poll.

According to an ALCO survey published on Friday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ governing New Democracy (ND) remains the country’s leading party with 23.5% support, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous poll earlier this month.

Tsipras’ ELAS received 12.8% support, ahead of PASOK, which dropped to 10%. The newly formed Hope for Democracy party, led by rail safety campaigner Maria Karystianou, ranked fourth with 9.5%, followed by the Communist Party of Greece at 6.4%.

The findings point to a major realignment within Greece’s opposition, following Tsipras’ return to active politics and the emergence of Karystianou’s anti-establishment movement.

When asked who would pose the strongest challenge to Mitsotakis in the next parliamentary election, scheduled for 2027, 25% of respondents named Tsipras, compared with 15% for PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis and 7% for Karystianou. The largest share, 29%, said no opposition figure currently appeared capable of mounting a serious challenge.

The survey also highlighted the continued decline of SYRIZA, Tsipras’ former party, which was projected to receive just 1.5% of the vote, well below the 3% threshold required for parliamentary representation. Several SYRIZA splinter groups also failed to clear the threshold, while Course of Freedom was projected at 3.2%.

According to the poll, ELAS draws most of its support from former SYRIZA voters, while Hope for Democracy appears to be attracting voters from right-wing and anti-establishment parties, including Niki, Greek Solution and New Democracy.

The nationwide telephone survey of 1,000 respondents was conducted between May 26 and May 28 and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.