Greeks head to the polls this Sunday after a split in the ruling far-left Syriza party over Greece’s bailout prompted Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to resign and call snap elections. A poll released Tuesday shows Syriza neck and neck with the center-right New Democracy party—27.0 percent support to 27.5, respectively—putting into doubt Tsipras’ ability to return as prime minister.
Syriza came to power in January on a staunch anti-austerity platform. However, Tsipras was unable to negotiate an end to austerity with Greece’s creditors—the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank. Throughout the spring Greece faced the risk of running out of money and defaulting on its loans. In late June Tsipras reached a deal with Greece’s creditors, but surprised many European leaders by calling for a referendum on the bailout package. Greeks overwhelmingly rejected the bailout in the July vote. But two weeks later, the Greek parliament approved a three-year, 86 billion euro bailout package, without the support of many Syriza parliamentarians, causing a split in the party and leading to Tsipras’ resignation.
Tuesday’s poll is the latest indicator of falling support for both Tsipras and Syriza. In March, Tsipras had an approval rating of 70 percent. It now hovers around 30 percent.