SYRIZA, KINAL vie for the north

As political tensions rise amid spiraling speculation about snap polls, the battle between leftist SYRIZA and the centrist Movement for Change (KINAL) for center-left voters appears to be shifting to northern Greece, with the former eager to limit damage incurred due to the contentious Prespes deal with what is now North Macedonia and KINAL keen to capitalize on the ruling party's losses.

The leftist-led government is eager to press ahead with its plan to reverse the negative climate in much of Greece's northern region of Macedonia, where discontent over the name deal was particularly vehement and where SYRIZA's popularity has plummeted.

One recent poll pointed to a gap of 18 percentage points between SYRIZA and the main conservative opposition New Democracy.

One veteran politician from northern Greece told Kathimerini that the climate is not at all receptive...