Greek polls: pro-bailout party ahead
THE LATEST round of polling in Greece shows the country’s pro-bailout New Democracy party pulling ahead of anti-austerity Syriza shortly before new elections.
Two of the five new polls out over the weekend also suggest that the pro-bailout Socialist party could get enough votes to form a majority coalition government with New Democracy after the fresh vote on 17 June.
But Athens might not have long before its public finances collapse, according to a secret government memo published yesterday by Greek newspaper To Vima.
The paper reports that it warns Greece could run out of money to pay public sector salaries and pensions in the middle of next month, earlier than thought, due to worsening tax receipts and Greece’s international lenders having withheld €1bn from its latest round of bailout money.
With days of coalition negotiations likely to follow the election, Greece could run out of money before a new government is in place.
Markets could take some comfort from the polls, however. The right-wing New Democracy party, which signed up to the IMF/EU bailout deal, is polling at 26-28 per cent, versus Syriza’s 20-26 per cent.
There is also huge support for keeping the euro, with 82 per cent in favour of staying in the single currency, despite a large number of those same voters wanting to throw out the cuts and reforms that are conditions of the bailout.