Let’s be serious. They’re not voting for the next Prime Minister at PASOK today and next Sunday.
Nobody knows who the next Prime Minister will be. It could the one we have today; it could be someone else.
But they are voting for the person who will reform, renew and rebuild PASOK with a single purpose: to return it to the stature of a historical ruling party.
So something far more critical and existential is at stake than the “next Prime Minister”.
Of course, every election (even within parties…) includes grandstanding, boasting and exaggerations of all kinds. And it would be a mistake to focus on words that don’t even shed a meaningful light on the people who said them.
Instead, it would be more useful if the candidates had set out more clearly the path by which they intend to guide PASOK back to the stature of a historical ruling party.
And that path, of course, lies neither in a swing to the right nor in the “SYRIZAfication” that is being peddled by some.
A fundamental feature of historical ruling parties is that they don’t seek partners or beg for a “helping hand”. And those within PASOK who ignore this are an insult to their own party.
Because autonomy should be PASOK’s primary concern, as it must be for any self-respecting party. And that is what whoever is elected to lead the party today and next Sunday must ensure.
But among other things, autonomy means there are no predetermined routes or default options. For the simple reason that a historical ruling party defines itself in terms of its own past, not with reference to other parties.
It conducts its politics with a concern for the national interest and is self-evidently committed to doing everything in its power to never leave the country unprotected or ungoverned.
This was what it did in its heyday. This is what it did during the Crisis years. And this is what it will be called upon to do whatever the future brings.
This could and should, perhaps, be made perfectly clear from the start.
Not only because it will rid the party of all those opportunist elements who are undermining its historical character for their own ends.
But also because this is the only way that the public, and certainly the thousands of friends of PASOK who will be taking part in the electoral process, can be sure they are electing someone who will serve the country’s interests no matter what. Even if they can’t be certain they’re electing the next Prime Minister…