PASOK party members will have the chance to vote in yet another party leadership election on Sunday, with six candidates on the ballot, including the incumbent party president Nikos Androulakis and Athens Mayor Haris Doukas.
The internal election was triggered after criticism of Androulakis’ leadership following last June’s European Parliament election results, where the once formidable socialist/social democrat failed to impress and remained third. Androulakis was elected as PASOK president in December 2021, easily overcoming former prime minister George Papandreou, the son of PASOK founder Andreas Papandreou, in the second round.
A recent Metron Analysis poll found about 66% of respondents are displeased with the center-right New Democracy (ND) government, although even more, 73%, viewed PASOK negatively.
“Our goal is to make the democratic faction the government again and the center-left the strongest political pole of the country,” Androulakis said from his native Crete, where his popularity is highest. He argued that in Crete the party has “sent the message that PASOK has returned to the forefront of political history,”.
In a party debate and on the campaign trail Androulakis has focused on a theme that he’s a “safe option” for the party and the country.
Mayor Haris Doukas has repeatedly cited the need for a new leadership and for a more robust opposition to the Mitsotakis government.
“Do we want an open, participatory PASOK, a great democratic party, which by uniting forces in society will win, or a closed and fearful PASOK, which will be butter on Mr. Mitsotakis’ bread?” Doukas asked rhetorically.
Doukas, a university professor of energy policy and management, was a more-or-less unknown political “quantity” before suprisingly winning the mayoral race in the municipality last October. In last year’s race his ticket of candidates garnered a lackluster 14.19% of the vote in the first round, compared to incumbent Costas Bakoyannis’ 41.35%, which was just shy of the mark for election in the first round. However, in the second round and facing off only against Bakoyannis, Doukas and his formation were favored by 55.96% of those voting, lending weight to the proposition that Bakoyannis’ popularity was low.
Doukas has stated that if he is elected party president, he will remain in the mayor’s seat.
On her part, former minister and EU Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou focused on the need for PASOK to appeal to a broader voter base, and emphasized her loyalty to the party.
The other candidates have similarly called for a party revival.
Former minister and current MP Pavlos Geroulanos cited a need to “inspire voters”, while MP Michalis Katrinis underlined the need for a dynamic opposition. Another MP and candidate, Nadia Giannakopoulou, said PASOK should serve as a “progressive alternative”
Recent polls have Androulakis as the front-runner, hovering at 31% mark, with Diamantopoulos and Doukas trailing at 24 and 22%, respectively, at least in one poll’s results. A runoff, if necessary, is scheduled for Oct. 13.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Polling stations will even be set up in Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia, with registered PASOK members and those who register on site eligible to vote.
