ATHENS: Greece’s conservative ruling party has pulled ahead in local polls for the first time in six months ahead of a crucial vote on reforms to unlock fresh international loans.
The figures, published yesterday, will be a relief for Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, whose country is expected to return to growth in 2014 after six years of painful recession.
A poll conducted on March 24-27 by Alco for weekly newspaper Proto Thema showed that Samaras’ New Democracy party would gain 21.7 percent of the votes if elections were held today, ahead of the main opposition leftist Syriza party on 21.2 percent.
Greece has been struggling to exit a crippling recession and a highly unpopular austerity framework adopted in return for bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund and European Union.
AFP
