The polls suggested his gamble to call early elections scheduled for September 20 to consolidate his power base could backfire, though in one of the polls more than a quarter of voters remained undecided, making the final outcome far from clear.

One poll, published on Friday, found that almost two-thirds of voters felt Mr Tsipras should not have sought a fresh mandate, while three surveys showed that his favored coalition ally, the Independent Greeks party, would not make it into Parliament.

Syriza was supported by 23 per cent of those polled by ProRata​ for Efimerida Ton Syntakton​ newspaper, with the conservative opposition New Democracy party second on 19.5 per cent. The previous ProRata poll in early July showed a wider gap in Syriza`s favour, putting the party on 26 per cent compared with 15 per cent for New Democracy.

Syriza would get 29 per cent and New Democracy 27.8 per cent if elections were held now, a poll conducted by Metron​ Analysis for Parapolitika​ newspaper showed. The result includes undecided voters. Another poll by the University of Macedonia for Greek Skai​ TV showed Syriza leading the conservative opposition by three percentage points, with 61.5 per cent saying Mr Tsipras had pursued a wrong negotiating strategy with official lenders.

Syriza would get 25.3 per cent of the vote versus 23.2 per cent for New Democracy, another survey by polling company Marc for Alpha TV showed.

Mr Tsipras remained the most popular political leader with 41 per cent of voters having a positive or very positive view, with New Democracy leader Vangelis Meimarakis​ not far behind with 34 per cent, according to ProRata.

But 64 per cent of Greeks said they believed Mr Tsipras` move to call snap polls was wrong, while 68 per cent agreed that Greece must stay in the eurozone at any cost, even if that meant further austerity. "The answers to these two questions lead to the conclusion that early elections may cost the (former) prime minister and Syriza," the newspaper said
A caretaker government led by Supreme Court judge Vassiliki Thanou had earlier been sworn in, comprising both technocrats and political figures, including George Chouliarakis​, who was part of Greece`s bailout negotiating team under Syriza, as interim finance minister.

"The basic goal is continuity so that precious time is not wasted. There has to be progress on the issue of reinforcing the Greek banking system as quickly as possible," Mr Chouliarakis said during the handover ceremony.

The head of the council of eurozone finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem​, urged the interim government to continue preparations to implement the bailout during the run-up to the election and said Mr Chouliarakis "knows what he`s doing".

Nikos Christodoulakis, who served as economy minister from 2001-2004 under the Socialist PASOK government, took the other key portfolio of economy, shipping, tourism and infrastructure.

Mr Tsipras abruptly resigned last week days after clinching an €86 billion ($134 billion) bailout package from European and International Monetary Fund lenders, hoping to crush a rebellion by far-left lawmakers and tighten his grip on power.

Popular Unity, the party formed last week by Syriza rebels who oppose the bailout, was backed by 3.5 per cent in the ProRata poll – above the 3 per cent threshold needed to enter Parliament – and 4.1 per cent in the poll by Metron Analysis. The University of Macedonia poll showed it would score 5 per cent.

But the Independent Greeks, the ally in Mr Tsipras` former coalition government, scored roughly 2 per cent in three polls, meaning Syriza would be forced to seek another coalition partner.

Mr Tsipras this week ruled out co-operating with the main pro-euro opposition parties – New Democracy, the Socialist PASOK and the centrist To Potami​. The poll`s result suggested that, in that event, the country would face a second round of elections.

Still, with Syriza`s move to accept the EU/IMF bailout, the next parliament will continue have a substantial majority of pro-bailout parties, meaning the country`s future in the eurozone looks more secure than it did at the start of the year.

One-third of those who supported Mr Tsipras` party in the January 2015 elections that took him into office said they were unsure if they would do so again, the ProRata poll said.

It also showed 25.5 per cent of voters were still undecided, making them the biggest bloc.

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