By Antonis Anzoletou

There has already been a lot of talk in the center-left space about his downfall PASOK and his rise SYRIZA in recent weeks. The big question is one: which political leader will be able to meet the demand of a large part of the voters for a credible and strong opposition to the New Democracy. Non-blue voters seem to be disappointed. They want to see an opponent against the Kyriakos Mitsotakis which will inspire confidence in them. To Nikos Androulakis he was given a great opportunity which, according to many, he did not take advantage of. It was in second place for a long time, but it did not manage to “take off” and create a margin of safety from SYRIZA. The resignation of Alexis Tsipras was the catalyst of the developments, but it turned out that his replacement will not be found so easily. Nothing is over yet for second place and those in Koumoundourou who are already celebrating are probably in a hurry. SYRIZA is ahead but by a “short lead” and the game until the European elections seems to be open.

However, the facts have changed and the tide is not in PASOK’s favor. Interview first, GPO next, Marc last Sunday and Metron Analysis and Opinion Poll for MEGA and ACTION 24 respectively yesterday showed his party Stefanou Kasselakis to regain second place. The SYRIZA conference may not have produced the expected results, but the period of internal calm that the party is going through and the communication counterattack that Stefanos Kasselakis prepared for his opponents, shortly before he enlisted, seems to have paid off. Today, after a long time, the Political Secretariat and possibly the first “knives” will come out. In Harilaou Trikoupi, the “own goals” they scored with the image they presented in the bill for same-sex couples, but also for non-state universities, seem to have paid off. And it may be that the “green camp” made it clear that there was no issue, but the non-invitation of Manolis Christodoulakis as a speaker at the event of the institute of the movement for the environment (he is the responsible head of the department) did not give a good impression. Even if they did not want it from PASOK, they showed a punitive attitude towards the top executive and his participation in the discussion with the Dionysis Tebonera and Efi Ahtsioglou which had caused a storm of reactions. And the story probably continues since Mr. Christodoulakis did not appear in an interview in which he admitted that he sees with a good eye the possibility of Thodoris Zagorakis joining the PASOK European ballot.

In Koumoundourou they saw that the targeting of Stefanos Kasselakis on the subject of his companies by the Maximus highlighted him as the main opponent of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, bringing back the ND – SYRIZA dichotomy. The most “suspicious” and those coming from PASOK see an expediency in all this, believing that in Piraeus they prefer Stefanos Kasselakis as an opponent, considering that he is more prone to “mistake”. At this stage, however, Koumoundourou seems to be winning over Harilaou Trikoupi in terms of the credibility of the opposition it exercises. The “Democrats” of Andreas Loverdos, who seem to be deducting “points” from PASOK, must also enter the equation.

The landscape is still murky for the second place and the “battle of the center” will play a big role, as well as the percentages recorded by the other parties. Both are looking towards undecideds at a time when their rallies are low and hovering around the 60% zone. The fourth and fifth places (if there are no other surprises) between the KKE and the Hellenic Solution are open, while the number of parties that will exceed the 3% threshold cannot be determined. THE New Left shows an upward trend, as it has a consistent attitude. Together with SYRIZA, both are “fishing” for a new progressive audience, but also for undecided former voters of Koumoundourou, who from 2019 onwards prefer their sofa to party events and squares. What does this mean; How any better percentage achieved by the party of Alexis Haritsis will also affect the numbers of Stefanos Kasselakis. Steady is the course recorded by Zoi Konstantopoulou’s Freedom Voyage.