After Tsipras’ move PASOK faces a test of political survival

PASOK: Scrambling to Hold Second Place After Tsipras’ Surprise Move

PASOK has entered an uphill conflict to support its assertion to 2nd spot successful the polls, rushing to revamp its representation and strategy aft Alexis Tsipras’ unexpected governmental comeback. The enactment present realizes it lacks adjacent the two-month model that Pavlos Geroulanos had warned was needed to equine an effectual counterattack.

The erstwhile premier minister’s determination to reassert himself arsenic a cardinal fig successful the center-left — by resigning from his parliamentary spot — has not lone unsettled PASOK but besides forced its enactment connected Charilaou Trikoupis Street to look for a governmental “lifeline.” The determination comes arsenic fears turn of losing crushed successful the polls up of the adjacent elections, with Tsipras’ caller inaugural threatening to gully voters away.

For months, PASOK had been focused solely connected competing with New Democracy, maintaining its stated extremity of “winning adjacent by 1 vote.” Now, however, the enactment finds itself warring connected 2 fronts — against some the ruling conservatives and Tsipras’ caller enactment — without the cushion of immoderate caller polling boost. Despite New Democracy showing signs of fatigue aft much than six years successful government, aboriginal readings suggest Tsipras’ caller enactment could debut with numbers rivaling PASOK’s.

Warnings Ignored

Until recently, PASOK officials had downplayed the imaginable of Tsipras’ return. Despite interior calls for much corporate decision-making, the enactment postponed important initiatives — specified arsenic much predominant meetings of elected bodies and mounting a day for a enactment legislature to clarify strategy earlier the elections.

Pavlos Geroulanos had been 1 of the fewer to dependable the alarm. Pointing to PASOK’s “stuck needle” successful the polls, helium warned that “we indispensable determination wrong 2 months, due to the fact that things volition beryllium overmuch much hard later.” His statement, present seen arsenic prophetic, sparked interior statement implicit the hazard of stagnation oregon adjacent diminution arsenic the predetermination approached. Several PASOK MPs are present urging a much assertive communications push, informing that the governmental scenery volition lone turn much competitive.

Androulakis Strikes Back

In the aftermath of Tsipras’ announcement, Nikos Androulakis moved swiftly to counterattack, seeking to regain momentum and acceptable the code for the coming battle.

“Today’s improvement confirms that from the infinitesimal the erstwhile premier curate resigned arsenic SYRIZA leader, helium was already plotting his adjacent determination — efficaciously orchestrating his party’s dissolution down the scenes,” Androulakis told ERT News. “Now, he’s trying to instrumentality to the spotlight extracurricular the model of SYRIZA.”

Positioning himself arsenic the main alternate to some Tsipras and Prime Minister Mitsotakis, Androulakis argued that “only PASOK tin signifier a credible and beardown hostile to New Democracy and present governmental change.” He added, successful a pointed jab astatine Tsipras, that “such efforts cannot beryllium built connected reckless behaviour oregon backroom maneuvering.”

Responding to Tsipras’ remarks astir egos among center-left leaders, Androulakis fired back: “Some person already been judged — and others volition beryllium judged soon.” He continued, “New Democracy’s 41% triumph was a effect of however Tsipras handled his relation arsenic absorption leader. He has been successful Parliament for 2 years and remained soundless connected cardinal issues — from the Tempi calamity to the OPEKEPE scandal. Who is genuinely self-serving? The 1 who fights successful Parliament each day, oregon the 1 who disappeared from the debate?”

Doukas Draws a Line

Former Athens mayoral campaigner Charis Doukas besides took a steadfast stance, telling Protothema.gr and Antonis Sroiter that helium would ne'er see cooperating with Tsipras, insisting his loyalty lies solely with PASOK.

Doukas acknowledged that enactment members sent him a wide connection during interior elections — that helium cannot harvester the roles of politician and enactment person — but emphasized that helium remains progressive successful nationalist politics. He argued that PASOK’s extremity should beryllium to decorativeness archetypal successful the elections, saying that “second spot would beryllium a failure.” While admitting that existent polling numbers are disappointing, helium warned that Androulakis “cannot run nether changeless clip pressure” and called for a enactment legislature to found wide positions — particularly the committedness to no post-election practice with New Democracy.

Diamantopoulou’s Critique

Anna Diamantopoulou, caput of PASOK’s governmental planning, besides weighed successful aft Tsipras’ announcement, predicting caller turbulence wrong SYRIZA.

“Alexis Tsipras’ resignation from Parliament marks the seventh divided wrong SYRIZA,” she wrote. “He present calls connected the leaders of the Left and Center-Left to ‘set speech their egos and extremity the fragmentation.’”

Diamantopoulou, who has repeatedly criticized Tsipras’ enactment benignant successful the past, erstwhile again dismissed immoderate anticipation of practice with him — reinforcing PASOK’s effort to gully a wide enactment betwixt the 2 camps.