Papandreou Support Falls to 2011 Low in Poll After Budget Cuts

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October 07, 2011, 3:59 AM EDT By Tom Stoukas

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Support for Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s ruling party sank to the lowest level this year after the government proposed a new property tax and cuts to pensions and wages, according to a Public Issue poll.

Papandreou’s Pasok party had 22.5 percent support, a drop of 5.5 percentage points from the month before and down from 38.5 percent in January, the poll, conducted for Kathimerini newspaper and SKAI TV, showed. Backing for the leading opposition party New Democracy fell half a percentage point to 31.5 percent. Smaller opposition parties gained support, with Syriza adding a half percentage point to 9.5 percent and the Democratic Left gaining 2 percentage points to 5 percent.

Papandreou’s support is ebbing after the government, seeking to avert a default, introduced measures to plug the budget gap for 2011 and 2012, including a property tax approved by parliament on Sept. 27 and further cuts to pensions and wages for state workers. The legislation came after inspectors from the International Monetary Fund and European Union halted a review of Greece on Sept. 1, and was aimed at securing additional bailout funds.

The poll of 1,015 people, conducted Sept. 29 to Oct. 4, found 53 percent were opposed to early elections, while 85 percent said the country is headed in the wrong direction. The poll had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.

Twenty-two percent of respondents said Papandreou, 59, was the best choice for prime minister, down 4 percentage points, while 28 percent picked 60-year-old New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, a gain of 6 percentage points from last month. Forty- seven percent said neither is a good choice. Papandreou had a negative rating of 73 percent compared with 59 percent for Samaras.

When asked what composition the government should have, 18 percent of respondents preferred a coalition between the two main parties, 18 percent said a broad coalition of parties and 9 percent said a New Democracy majority. Five percent of those polled said they preferred a Pasok majority.

--Editors: Laura Zelenko.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Stoukas in Athens at astoukas@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Angela Cullen at acullen8@bloomberg.net

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