Ilias Kasidiaris

Ilias Kasidiaris, the jailed former MP and spokesperson for the Greek National Party (Ellines), is reportedly considering to install former prosecutor Anastasios (Tasos) Kanellopoulos as formal leader of his far-right party in an attempt to evade a potential election ban. 

The ruling Conservatives maintain a lead of 4.5 percentage points over leftist main opposition party, SYRIZA, in voting intention, according to a new poll by Pulse, conducted on behalf of broadcaster Skai, and published on Tuesday.

Ilias Kasidiaris in Athens, October 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/KOSTAS TSIRONIS

The Ellines party was founded in 2020 by a former member of the far-right Golden Dawn, Ilias Kasidiaris, who is currently serving a sentence for being part of a criminal organisation.

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.

The latest poll on voting intentions suggests that while center-right New Democracy is still ahead of left-wing SYRIZA, the lead has narrowed since the deadly train collision on February 28.

The Marc poll for Antenna TV, which was aired late Thursday, gives New Democracy 29.6 percent of voting intentions to 25 percent for SYRIZA.

Greece's government is seeking to ban a far-right political party led by a jailed former lawmaker from participating in a general election later this year, with a legislative initiative that has gained cross-party support.

A provision was tabled late Thursday night in Parliament to block the participation in national elections of the new party fronted by the jailed Ilias Kasidiaris, who was once a leading figure of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.

In the last few days, the Greek government and main opposition SYRIZA have submitted their proposals for blocking Ellines - the party formed by Ilias Kasidiaris, a former top official of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn convicted of directing a criminal organization - from running in the upcoming general elections.

Ruling New Democracy maintains a lead of 5.9 points over leftist opposition SYRIZA, according to a poll conducted by MRB and presented on Open TV Thursday.

The intention of the government and the opposition to prevent convicted neo-Nazi Ilias Kasidiaris from taking a fresh run at Parliament with his new party is obvious. I don't know if it will work, though, because history has shown that such efforts rarely have the desired effect and those being barred can simply bypass the system by forming a new party.