Choosing a president by opinion poll

Choosing a president by opinion poll

Commissioned surveys tilted Mitsotakis’ decision to favor a candidate from the ruling party

A series of opinion polls commissioned by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and conducted between October and December 2024 determined his choice of a new president of the republic, Kathimerini understands.

The polls tested the favorability of seven candidates for the largely ceremonial presidency, as well as that of incumbent Katerina Sakellaropoulou, both among the public at large and among supporters of various political parties.

Mitsotakis is known for not making decisions without taking account of their reception by the public, and the decision on the new president could not be an exception to the rule.

Mitsotakis could have recommended the re-appointment of Sakellaropoulou to a second, and final, five-year term, but the opinion polls showed a large majority, 61.4% to 31.9%, against such a move.

Not only was the incumbent president, a former top judge coming from the center-left, unpopular with conservatives, but she was widely rejected by supporters of left-wing SYRIZA, while voters of socialist PASOK were evenly divided. Thus, Mitsotakis faced the prospect of an MP revolt, while support from the center-left, which had overwhelmingly voted for Sakellaropoulou in 2020, was uncertain.