MacroPolis

The major parties have set their stalls for June's European Parliament elections, as centre-right New Democracy tries to halt its recent slide in the opinion polls, left-wing SYRIZA seeks to establish itself as the main opposition party, centre-left PASOK tries not to miss an opportunity to challenge for second place, and ultra-nationalist Greek Solution seeks to make its mark as a rising force.

New Democracy has unveiled its list of candidates for this summer's European Parliament elections and, in a clear nod to right-wing voters, has included the controversial ethnic Greek-Albanian politician Fredi Beleri.

The decision came as a new opinion poll showed that some voters on the right of the political spectrum are turning their backs on the ruling centre-right party, weakening ND's support and boosting parties on the radical right.

Beleri is in prison in Albania on charges of vote-buying in local elections in which he was elected mayor of the ethnic Greek town of Himarra. Athens has made diplomatic attempts to intervene on his behalf, claiming that his imprisonment is politically motivated, sparking a diplomatic spat with Tirana.

Sections of the opposition and the media have also drawn attention to Beleri's links to the Greek far right, his conviction for illegal possession of weapons in 1995 and his alleged involvement with an irredentist terrorist group in Albania.

Some senior government officials were reportedly in favour of including Beleri on the ND ticket, while others, including Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, were opposed or sceptical.

The decision to name him as a candidate for this summer's elections was apparently driven by concerns in the conservative camp that the party was losing right-wing voters, particularly in northern Greece, where the ultra-nationalist Greek Solution and its leader Kyriakos Velopoulos have a stronghold. The Beleri case and its implications for relations with Albania have become a hot-button issue for voters on the right of the political spectrum.

A new poll by ProRata for Attica TV found that only 30 pct of voters who identify themselves as right or far right support New Democracy, compared to 31 pct who support the Greek solution. Eight pct also say they support the religious hardliners of Niki, and 7 pct back Foni Logikis (Voice of Logic), another far-right party.

Among self-identified centre-right voters, New Democracy has more support. It reaches 54 pct, compared to a still high 13 pct for Greek Solution and 4 pct for Niki.

Mitsotakis will be hoping that the official announcement of his party's candidates will provide a timely boost to ND's flagging ratings. Although the conservatives remain more than 15 points ahead of their nearest rival, recent opinion polls show support for ND slipping towards 30 pct, down from more than 40 pct in last summer's national elections.

The centre-right party is aiming to at least match its performance of just over 33 pct in the last European Parliament elections, allowing government officials to argue that this would be a decent result after five years in power. However, any result below 30 pct is likely to cause alarm at ND headquarters, setting up a tricky period for the prime minister, who has three years left of his second term.

In terms of voting intentions, ProRata puts New Democracy on 25.5 pct, SYRIZA on 13 pct, PASOK on 11 pct and Greek Solution on 8.5 pct, ahead of the Communist Party (KKE) on 8 pct. The share of undecided voters is 13.5 pct.

Compared to the last ProRata survey in January, there has been significant movement in support for several parties. The most noticeable change concerns the ruling centre-right party, as support for New Democracy has fallen by 4.5 points since January. SYRIZA has moved in the opposite direction, gaining 2.5 points, apparently at the expense of PASOK, which has lost 2 points. Greek Solution has been the big winner in recent months, as its support has increased by 3.5 points.

According to the latest soundings, New Democracy is on course to win between 28 and 32 pct of the vote in June. SYRIZA is expected to win between 13.5 and 16.5 pct, which would put it below its share of the vote in last year's national elections. Its leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, has pledged to improve on last year's performance in the upcoming vote.

PASOK is on course to win between 11.5 and 14.5 pct of the vote. Anything close to 15 pct would be seen as a decent result for the socialists, but getting less than SYRIZA would be a problem for centre-left leader Nikos Androulakis. Greek Solution is predicted to win between 9 and 11 pct of the vote, which would mean the ultra-nationalists would at least double their share of the vote from the national elections, when they won 4.4 pct.

This week, SYRIZA leader Kasselakis was forced to back down from a meeting with a pro-Israel pressure group during a visit to the United States after critics accused him of ignoring the party’s long-standing positions on the Middle East.

Kasselakis was in New York and Washington as a guest of the Greek diaspora for the local celebration of March 25. The SYRIZA president said he was there to support diaspora Greeks in their claims for equal rights in Greece. However, a meeting scheduled with American Israeli lobby group AIPAC was called off after critics from the left accused him of signalling a pro-Israeli stance.

Kasselakis defended himself against insinuations that he was playing to a conservative audience with his public appearances during his recent visit to the US. The businessman-turned-politician attended a church service and visited the Greek Orthodox archbishop on his visit to New York, while it was leaked to the press that he recounted an account from his baptism where the oil formed a cross in the font, apparently signifying a bright future.

The reports were seized upon by ND and critics in the media, who were quick to point out the apparent contradiction between Kasselakis’s displays of piety and the leftist credentials of SYRIZA.