New Democracy

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday expressed his confidence that Greece will regain investment grade rating this year.

"I am certain that we can achieve the investment grade goal by 2023 as long as people have faith [in New Democracy] and [the elections] result in a strong and stable government," Mitsotakis said in comments after the European Council meeting Friday.

The telecommand system of the railway network at Larissa station in northern Greece was the focus, to a large extent, of the confrontation between ruling New Democracy and main opposition SYRIZA in Monday's marathon session of Parliament's Institutions and Transparency Committee.

The difference between ruling New Democracy and SYRIZA is down to 3.6 points, according to a poll conducted by Alco for Alpha TV between March 13 and 17 on a nationwide sample of 1,001 voters.

More specifically, New Democracy leads the pack regarding voter intentions with 28.4%, followed by leftist opposition SYRIZA with 24.8% and center-left PASOK in third with 9.3%.

The political landscape reflected in public opinion polls almost three weeks after the rail tragedy at Tempe is causing a commotion in the ranks of the country's political parties, as "nobody" has gained popularity among the burgeoning section of undecided voters: They shot up to 12.5% in the latest survey conducted by Pulse for Skai, from 9.5% just a month earlier.

The meeting of Parliament's Institutions and Transparency Committee on Monday morning is seen as the latest chapter in the acrimonious exchanges between Greece's political parties as to who was responsible for the deadly train crash on February 28 in northern Greece. 

A poll by the Pulse company for Skai TV gives ruling New Democracy a lead over main opposition SYRIZA, but with a drop in its share and a narrowing of the gap.

In the wake of the deadly train collision in northern Greece on February 28, three former ministers of infrastructure and transport (Michalis Chrysochoidis, Christos Spirtzis, Kostas Karamanlis) along with incumbent Giorgos Gerapetritis will attend Parliament's Committee on Institutions and Transparency on Monday, which will convene following an initiative of ruling New Democracy's parliamentar

A new opinion poll suggests ruling New Democracy's lead over main opposition SYRIZA has narrowed, with 2.9 percentage points now separating the parties.

The MRB poll for Open TV on voting intentions put New Democracy at 27.4% (down from 30.2%), SYRIZA at 24.5% (up from 24.3%) and PASOK-Movement for Change at 9% (-1).

With May general elections looming, political party staffs are doing their utmost to diagnose the unfolding political landscape in the aftermath of the deadly train collision in northern Greece on February 28.

Members of far-left activist group Rouvikonas ("Rubicon") threw fliers Sunday outside the home of former Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis and posted the event, along with a statement, on their Facebook account.

The fliers read "Karamanlis, Minister of Crimes and Murders."