ATHENS (Reuters) - Support for the two parties backing Greece's international bailout remains at historic lows less than a month before a general election, two polls showed on Thursday.
The polls were published a day after the vote was formally set for May 6. The snap election has caused concern among the country's international lenders, which want Greece's future government to stick to the austerity policies that underpin its 130-billion-euro (106 billion pounds) bailout.
Support for the conservative New Democracy party was at 19 percent, a poll by Public Issue in newspaper Kathimerini showed, a drop of 3.5 percentage points compared to the end of March.
The Socialist PASOK shed 1 percentage point to 14.5 percent, according to the poll, which was conducted between April 3-9.
Based on those poll numbers, the two parties combined may not win an absolute majority of seats in parliament.
Backing for smaller, anti-bailout parties remained high, the poll showed, particularly for the "Independent Greeks", a group formed last month by New Democracy rebel Panos Kammenos, who was expelled from his party for rejecting the bailout.
Finance Minister Filippos Sachinidis, who helped negotiate the EU/IMF bailout, warned citizens on Thursday that the country's euro zone membership was at stake at the vote.
"I expect that in the election, the people will express their dissatisfaction and distrust at the political system," he was quoted as saying in an interview on website in.gr. "The need to protest shouldn't lead to choices that would take (the country) outside Europe and the euro."
Another poll by Metron Analysis, published in newspaper Imerisia, showed New Democracy at 24.3 percent and PASOK at 15.4 percent. The poll was conducted between March 20 and April 6.
As many as nine parties, ranging from the communist KKE to the extreme-right Golden Dawn, may cross the 3 percent threshold to enter parliament, the polls show.
Following is a table with the most recent Greek opinion polls.
(Reporting by Harry Papachristou)
