The initial high-stakes “recognition game” is unfolding at Harilaou Trikoupi, where Nikos Androulakis and PASOK officials are set to reveal their strategies in a contentious showdown for party leadership.
In the joint meeting of the Political Council and the Parliamentary Group, which began at one in the afternoon, no votes are scheduled, but today’s clash between opposing factions is expected to heavily influence PASOK’s challenging post-election period.
Both the current leader and the officials raising leadership issues, where attempts will be made to assert their terms and leverage the meeting to further their goals at the start of this intra-party battle.
Nikos Androulakis aims to extend the timeline as much as possible, citing the party’s statute, which calls for an intra-party ballot in the fall of 2025. He may present a different roadmap for the top process. He has threatened to dismiss executives with “toxic speech” following the Central Committee meeting at the end of the month – a body he numerically controls and where key decisions will be made. However, insiders suggest he will aim to reduce tension in this initial preview of the new season. His supporters argue for gaining time, accusing challengers of causing internal strife and providing “gifts” to the Mitsotakis government, which suffered its first major defeat in the European elections.
Many executives who raised leadership issues have already called for an immediate appeal to the polls. Among them are three potential leadership candidates: Haris Doukas (who is not part of the current body but will speak in the afternoon), Pavlos Geroulanos, and Manolis Christodoulakis.
In essence, Odysseas Konstantinopoulos, Nikos Papandreou, Nadia Giannakopoulou, Apostolos Panas, and other MPs, along with Tonia Antoniou, Efi Chalatsi, Theodoros Margaritis, Haris Kastanidis, Antonis Saulidis, and other Political Council officers, have taken combative positions at the meeting, advocating for immediate elections and harshly criticizing the leadership. The positions of former Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou and former ministers Kostas Skandalidis and Petros Efthymiou, who have so far avoided public interventions, are of particular interest. Absent at the start is former PASOK Secretary and longtime Androulakis associate, Stefanos Xekalakis. Current Secretary Andreas Spyropoulos, who failed to secure election in the recent European battle, is rumored to open his papers regarding his resignation, which he submitted to Androulakis on the evening of June 9 but was not accepted by the PASOK leader.
In his interview with ERT yesterday, Androulakis appeared determined to claim the initiative at all levels. He did not disclose the timing of the appeal to the polls, stated his intention to run for re-election, and called on those with similar ambitions to declare their intent. He warned against “escalations and adventures,” described Haris Doukas’ ambitions as legitimate but oppositional, and suggested that Konstantinopoulos, Geroulanos, and Giannakopoulou had pre-planned their challenge from the night of the European elections. “It truly saddens me that some did not even wait for the electoral process to conclude. While ballots were still being counted, a pre-planned move appeared in the media,” he said, threatening dismissals and accusing officials of diverting attention from the real loser on a night when New Democracy was faltering. “We are not a jungle and will not become one. We will not return to times of discord, obsolescence, or poison in PASOK’s ranks. I won’t allow it. Everything will be institutionalized. I will explain everything to the Political Council and, above all, to the Central Political Committee,” Androulakis added, referring to today’s meeting.
Haris Doukas to Reveal His Stance on PASOK Amid Rapid Developments
As the PASOK meeting convenes at 6 p.m., Haris Doukas will be presenting George Siakantaris’ book from the Renewing Left, titled “What Democracies Will Exist in 2050? – Post-democracy, Post-politics, Post-parties.” Sources indicate that the Mayor of Athens is poised to disclose his position on PASOK and the unfolding developments during this event. His recent interview with Kathimerini hinted at criticisms of the leadership and proposed calling on party members and friends for a leadership election.
Joining him on the panel at the Technopolis Amphitheater of the Municipality of Athens will be SYRIZA MP Theofilos Xanthopoulos, former minister George Stathakis, Renewing Left leader and PASOK Political Council member Thodoros Margaritis, and Professor of Modern History at Thessaloniki University, Efi Gazi.
