ATHENS – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ widely-hailed handling of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has given his New Democracy government a runaway 19.7 percent lead over the major opposition Radical Left SYRIZA deposed in July 7, 2019 snap elections.

That was the finding of a survey conducted by the firm MRB which New Democracy a 40-20.3 percent margin for SYRIZA, consistent with the 39.85 percent the Conservatives won in last year’s polls while the Leftists fell hard after winning 31.53 percent then.

The center-left Movement for Change KINAL, led by veterans of the defunct PASOK Socialists who served New Democracy in a former coalition  was third with an irrelevant 5 percent, but still said being sought as potential partners by the front-runners.

Fourth was the Greek Communist Party (KKE) with its traditional level of 4.3 percent, followed by the far-right Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution) led by TV pitchman Kyriakos Velopoulos at 3.9 percent while dead last at 3 percent is the MeRA25 party of former SYRIZA finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

The findings were even worse for SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, who has picked up sniping again at Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister favored by 70.6 percent of respondents compared to only 34.6 percent for his fading rival.

Despite the uncatchable lead in polls, Mitsotakis said he won’t hold early elections again to renew a mandate with a recession looming and only 7.7 of voters said they want another one so soon as they’re struggling now to come back from COVID-19.

Some 59.7 percent said elections should take place at the end of the conservatives’ four-year term in 2023, said the survey that was aired on Star TV.