Kyriakos Mitsotakis is used to sleeping early, as he wakes up early in the morning. Last night’s thriller night against the backdrop of the PASOK elections could have upset the prime minister’s habit, but around midnight Charis Doukas “locked in” his second-round appearance against Pavlos Geroulanos and the prime minister turned off the TV.
Officially today, during the briefing of political editors by the government spokesman, the government is going to maintain silence on the result of the ballot, refusing to comment publicly on the intra-party developments. There is, of course, obvious interest in the ranks of the government in the developments in PASOK as well, as they see it being “marketed” in second place, given the collapse of Syriza. Although government officials said that estimates of a rapid rise in participation in the intra-party process were refuted.
The outcome of the first round, with the Androulakis-Doukas pair in the second round, was a rather predictable development for the Maximou Mansion, as it had long seemed that the two men were ahead. A lead, of course, that became more marginal after the debate, where Pavlos Geroulanos and Anna Diamantopoulou gained points and obviously attracted centrist voters to the polls. And several of those who registered as “friends” of PASOK are highly likely to come from the pool of centrist citizens who voted ND in 2023.
Between Mr Androulakis or Mr Doukas, Maximou has no…preference, overt or covert. Mr. Androulakis is known to Mr. Mitsotakis, given that they have been in opposition since 2021. In the Maximou Mansion, they believe that in the previous period there was a limited possibility for PASOK to “detach” centrist voters from ND. As for the more “left-leaning” Mr. Doukas, the confrontations have already started during his mayoral term and he has been treated by the Maximou Mansion as a practical “continuator” of the course of SYRIZA. It is also noted that he came fourth in Attica, but especially in Athens, where the Municipality of Athens is located.
It is obvious that any “overtaking” of Mr. Geroulanos over Mr. Doukas and his presence in the second round of PASOK would bring a shuffling of the deck in the centrist area, as many citizens who may have voted ND in 2023 supported Mr. Geroulanos and Ms. Diamantopoulou in the PASOK ballot box. And apparently Ms Diamantopoulou’s presence in the process “cut” votes from Mr Geroulanos.
That being said, the Maximou Mansion will continue to proceed with an independent strategy and emphasis on reform performance, so as not to cut ties with the critical mass of voters who supported ND in 2019 and 2023, even though they did not come from it. At the same time, government officials are watching developments from the right of the party with particular attention, noting the intense mobility that is taking place. After all, Mitsotakis has already signaled that he will fight the 2027 elections as head of the New Democracy party for a third four-year term in Maximou.
