Haris Doukas attributed the responsibility for the absence of a debate ahead of the second round of elections for PASOK this coming Sunday to Nikos Androulakis. At the same time, the mayor of Athens expressed confidence in a turnaround, stating, “the demand for change is very strong.”

“The debate didn’t happen because Nikos Androulakis didn’t want it. We said we were available; we didn’t schedule anything or arrange any speeches. On Monday, it was announced that Mr. Androulakis had a speech in Pyrgos on Wednesday. There were days available—Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. This is the core problem in PASOK: we don’t discuss,” he said.

“The debate didn’t take place because he didn’t want to discuss. This reflects a fearful PASOK that doesn’t want to talk. We want to discuss, to exchange views,” Mr. Doukas added.

“When you can’t talk to a fellow candidate, how will you confront the system that governs?” he wondered.

When asked if a turnaround could happen on Sunday, the candidate for PASOK president replied, “I deeply believe that a turnaround can happen because the demand for change is very strong. That is why the process of electing a new president began.”

“It is crucial to create an open, institutional, inclusive PASOK. We need to establish a political center with my fellow candidates that will meet every week to discuss all the issues and interventions we will make,” said Haris Doukas, who also responded that “I haven’t thought about vice-presidential positions. Other candidates can be utilized if PASOK opens up.”

As he emphasized, “the parliamentary group must have a say and role, and should not simply agree with ‘yes’ and then wake up with ‘no’ on positions, as happened with postal voting.”