Is there demand for a new centrist party?

The debate has intensified about whether Greece's centrist parties can come together in a new political project that could play a significant role in domestic politics. Can centrist politicians build a third political pole capable of challenging leftist SYRIZA and the conservative opposition New Democracy party, or will the new grouping simply be reduced to a political buffer zone between its biggest rivals in the country's two-party system?

Political surveys to date indicate there is no clear answer. Democratic Alignment has been polling between 5 and 7 percent, while support for To Potami centrists has been in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 percent. Even if we were to assume that the new party does manage to absorb all these votes, support would still barely reach double digits. Such a prospect, of course, falls short of the expectations of centrist politicians, the most...