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 party failed to impress and remained in third place behind ruling ND and leftist SYRIZA. 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 return the democratic front to government, and the center left (political spectrum) the strongest political pole in the country,” Androulakis said from his native Crete, where his popularity is highest. He argued that in Crete the party has “sent a message that PASOK has returned to the forefront of political history.”
In a debate among the candidates and on the campaign trail Androulakis has repeated that he’s a “safe option” for the party and the country.
Mayor Haris Doukas has consistently cited the need for a new party 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?” he asked, rhetorically.
Doukas, a university professor of energy policy and management, was a more-or-less unknown political “quantity” before surprisingly winning the mayoral race in Greece’s largest 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 ticket were favored by 55.96% of those voting, lending weight to the proposition that Bakoyannis’ popularity was very low.
Doukas has stated that if he’s 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.
