ATHENS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Greek anti-bailout opposition Radical Left Coalition SYRIZA and far-Right Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avgi) parties gain ground in the debt-hit country, two fresh opinion polls showed on Saturday, as the government pushes for more austerity to avoid a chaotic default by year end.
If general elections were held in debt-laden Greece today, SYRIZA would top, garnering 23.8 percent of votes, according to a survey conducted by polling firm "Rass" for local daily "Parapolitika" (Behind the Scenes Political News).
The centre-Right New Democracy (ND) party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras which leads the three-party coalition government that emerged after June's polls, would follow with 22.7 percent.
Golden Dawn, the neo-fascist party which won 0.29 percent of votes in the 2009 elections, and 7 percent this year, would become the third largest party in the Greek assembly, doubling its rating to 14 percent, said the opinion poll.
The socialists of PASOK and moderate Democratic Left, the two junior coalition partners, would also count losses, trailing with 7.2 percent (down from 12.2 in June) and 5 percent (down from 6.2 percent in June) respectively.
A similar image is formed by the results of another opinion poll conducted by polling firm VPRC for the newspaper "Ellada Avrio" (Greece Tomorrow).
The survey sees SYRIZA leading with 30.5 percent (up from 30 in September), ND at 27 (down from 28 in September and 29.7 in June), Golden Dawn at 14 percent (up from 12 in September).
Political analysts in Athens attribute the shifting scenery to the growing disenchantment of voters with the continuing harsh austerity drive introduced to resolve the Greek debt crisis.
Four months ago most Greeks voted in favor of parties supporting the bailout deals signed since 2010 to keep the country afloat, hoping that the new government would persuade European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) lenders to ease some painful austerity terms which have fuelled recession and jobless rates.
As the pressure has not decreased remarkably yet and the government is in the final stretch of negotiations with creditors for a new 13.5 billion euro (about 17.7 billion U.S. dollars) austerity package in exchange of the release of fresh 31.5 billion euro rescue loans this autumn, frustration rises.
About eight out of 10 respondents in VPRC's poll believe Greece and the government are on the wrong track. Some 78 percent oppose the new austerity set (up from 60 in September), while 82 percent say that their financial standing has worsened in a year.
Following an EU summit in Brussels this week which gave a promising sign to Athens, Samaras' government steps ups efforts to finalize the austerity package to secure the loans by mid-November and then seek an extension of the fiscal adjustment period to ease recession and boost growth to overcome the crisis.
In a statement during the Brussels summit, eurozone leaders acknowledged that Greece seems determined to deliver on its commitments and has made remarkable efforts, adding however that more budgetary policies and structural reforms are needed.
"We have covered 90 percent of the path toward the release of the next tranche aid. It would be a waste of national efforts if we failed now," Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told Greek financial newspaper "Imerisia" (Daily) on Saturday.
Speaking at a local radio channel on Saturday, government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou appeared confident that a deal could be sealed within a week and all the measures requested could pass the Greek parliament (the coalition holds an easy majority) by the next crucial euro group meeting scheduled for Nov. 12.
The Greek government warns that Greece's current cash reserves would run out on Nov. 16, without further international funding.
A Greek disorderly default and possible exit from the eurozone could destabilize the entire European common currency zone. (1 euro= 1.31 U.S. dollars)
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