"Secret polls" show New Democracy leading in Greece
Market surges amid rumours of Syriza loss.
By Alex Hern Published 14 June 2012 15:22
Polling in Greece is banned in the two weeks leading up to an election, so we have very little information as to what the likely outcome of the 17 June vote will be. It will definitely be New Democracy, the conservative party, and Syriza, the radical left, in the top two places; and the margin is unlkely to be more than 3 per cent either way. But beyond that, everything is very up in the air.
Business Insider's Joe Weisenthal, however, points out that the Greek stock market has surged today:
He says:
According to Greek stock market participants, there are "secret polls" that show the pro-bailout New Democracy party is leading and likely to win this Sunday's election. Technically, polling is banned for the two weeks prior to the election, but the parties and so forth are still keeping tabs on the mood of the electorate, and these polls can get out.
Furthermore, Greek betting sites have shown also a spike in bets placed on New Democracy, and this too is seen as evidence of a shift. So traders like the stability of the pro-bailout, conservative New Democracy party over the chaos of the left-wing Syriza party, and thus at least right now are speculating that the status quo wll remain.
All of this is to be taken with the biggest grain of salt possible, of course. It's an inference from an inference – no one is on the record as having actually seen these polls and it's all too easy for a rumour like this to become self-sustaining. But the market is hungry for information from Greece, and any will do.
Latest tweets
More from New Statesman
- Online writers:
- Steven Baxter
- Rowenna Davis
- David Allen Green
- Mehdi Hasan
- Nelson Jones
- Gavin Kelly
- Helen Lewis
- Laurie Penny
- The V Spot
- Alex Hern
- Martha Gill
- Alan White
- Samira Shackle
- Alex Andreou
- Nicky Woolf in America
- Bim Adewunmi
- Glosswitch
- Kate Mossman on pop
- Ryan Gilbey on Film
- Martin Robbins
- Rafael Behr
- Eleanor Margolis
- Tools and services:
- Polls
- Predictions
- Archive
- Magazine
- PDF edition
- RSS feeds
- Advertising
- Subscribe
- Special supplements
- Stockists





















9 comments
the market is hungry for information from Greece. Information about Ascorbic Acid http://www.protexinternational.com
Greece takes a step towards success tonight! #euros
Greek takes a step towards success tonight! #euros
"So traders like the stability of the pro-bailout, conservative New Democracy party over the chaos of the left-wing Syriza party"
I guess Joe Weisenthal is kind of biased...
Why get the Greeks out of their right--wing mess. Let them stew awhile.
Platonic Politics
Great... Nice post. it's just nonsense to say that [...] Read More
Showing "secret polls" to nervous stockbrokers sounds like a good way to make a few Euros playing the market...
Would a Turkeys vote for Christmas? Let's hope not.
I think you could have made your last 'disclaimer' paragraph a lot stronger. Secret polls and a surge in betting are pretty poor proxies for what is happening. I bet you could find some info in the Greek press about the continuing withdrawal of money from the banks...a better proxy for what the people with money are worried about in relation to the coming election result.
Just a thought.