Nikos Androulakis, leader of Greece's socialist PASOK party, launched pointed criticism at former prime minister Alexis Tsipras during an informal meeting with journalists in Thessaloniki on September 11, ahead of his own speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair the following day.
What began as an invitation for a relaxed conversation and a drink with reporters at a hotel bar in the city turned into a barrage of questions. Androulakis answered them by raising the tone of his confrontation with both the ruling New Democracy party and Tsipras's new political project.
PASOK's position, decided at its party congress, is clear, Androulakis said: the New Democracy government must fall now, at the next election, and not in 2031, as some others are planning, he added, a remark widely taken as aimed at Tsipras. He said the solution now for political change, with a specific and clear programme, is PASOK standing against New Democracy.
He insisted PASOK has solutions to citizens' problems, along with vision and a plan, which is why the party is rising while others without such a plan are starting to "deflate."
Androulakis jokes about PASOK's momentum
Asked about PASOK's standing in opinion polls, Androulakis joked that the party does well whenever the Panathinaikos football club does well. Press spokesman Kostas Tsoukalas, a supporter of rival Athens club Olympiacos, replied that if that were true, he would have to reconsider his position. The ballot boxes will show, Androulakis said. Asked whether PASOK was fighting on two fronts at once, he said PASOK is the party of the official opposition and its main rival is the governing party, but it would not leave attacks from other quarters unanswered either.
New arrivals expected at PASOK
Androulakis also signalled further additions to his party's ranks, describing its expansion as running in both directions, political and social, and inviting anyone who agrees with its policy commitments to join. According to reports, two independent members of parliament who previously belonged to the left-wing SYRIZA party are likely to attend his speech in Thessaloniki: Evangelos Apostolakis, elected on PASOK's state list, and Alexandros Avlonitis, an MP from Corfu. Apostolakis is a former chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff and served as defence minister under Tsipras. The return of another former SYRIZA figure, Nina Kasimati, a onetime SYRIZA member of the European Parliament, was also described as a matter of time.
PASOK, formally the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, is Greece's oldest social-democratic party and now positions itself as the official opposition to the New Democracy government led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Tsipras, a former prime minister and longtime SYRIZA leader, has been working to launch a new political party since stepping back from SYRIZA's leadership. The Thessaloniki International Fair, known in Greece as the DEth, is an annual trade exhibition that has become the traditional venue for the prime minister and opposition leaders to unveil their policy programmes each September.
Warning over "national issues"
Androulakis also addressed foreign policy, saying that games with national issues are not allowed and are dangerous. The comment came in response to remarks by Giorgos Floridis, who suggested that if there is no stable government on election night, opponents could try to seize the initiative. Androulakis said the government had failed to take advantage of "calm waters."
Comments on the far right and Kasidiaris
Turning to the rise of far-right parties across Europe, as well as the release from prison of Ilias Kasidiaris and plans for his return to political life, Androulakis said PASOK had been the first party to take initiatives against the far-right Golden Dawn party back in 2014. He said responsibility lay with those who "swear by Trumpism" and whose rhetoric legitimises far-right voices. Kasidiaris was a leading member of Golden Dawn, which a Greek court found had operated as a criminal organisation, a ruling that also led to his imprisonment.
See photos from the meeting
