Three months ago, the current president of PaSoK seemed to be on the canvas. 2/3 of the base wanted a change of leadership and his remaining at the helm of the party just didn’t seem normal. Three months later, the re-elected president, once again showed endurance and, taking advantage of the fragmentation of the warring forces, prevailed. The party, therefore, chose to renew its trust in Nikos Androulakis, who now has the opportunity to launch his program so that PaSoK can achieve its goal and get back into power.
It’s time for extroversion
After his internal issues were over it was time for extroversion and understanding the real problems of society. The recording of the rise of PaSoK during its internal party elections showed that there is a potential dynamic. The bet of Nikos Androulakis and PaSoK is to keep the momentum and not to repeat the phenomenon of 2017 and 2021. That is, to receive large percentages immediately after his internal party elections but ultimately fail in the parliamentary ones.
The fact that 1/3 of the voters of the first round, and specifically 2/3 of the total voters of the 4 presidential candidates who were not in the second round, abstained may be a first bell. A total of 20% of the people who voted in the intra-party elections answered that if the leader they voted for is not elected, they would not vote for PaSoK in the next parliamentary elections. This is because in a party with a so far unclear strategy, each voter of each candidate was optimistic about the future on the condition that the president of their choice would be elected. PaSoK must show quick reflexes and be able to expand, showing that it is a party with tendencies that have a voice but at the critical moment they move forward together and is not a party of barons and armies with little room for convergence.
The disproportion of Attica/Thessalonica percentages with the rest of Greece made its appearance again and as long as PaSoK receives static percentages in the urban centers, the growth of the party will be small. In PaSoK after 2021 once again comes a result which must be taken seriously into account. Then 3 candidates had similar results but the new leadership’s fora did not let it understand that without the composition, the movement would not be able to achieve its goals. Now 4, now, candidates have similar percentages around 20-25% if we remove from the equation Crete with the completely disproportionate percentages.
It’s up to Androulakis to get PaSoK out of the doldrums
The renewal of trust in the new leadership gives Nikos Androulakis the strength to proceed with the divisions he wants in the party and at the same time to seriously listen to the opinions of other presidential candidates who are almost of the same height. It is up to the head of the PASOK to take it out of the immobility and turn the dynamic participation of 303 thousand citizens into the kinetic energy of a party that stands and watches the trains and opportunities pass by.
The really big bet of PaSoK is, in terms of a potential government party, to embrace the citizens of the urban centers since the province votes on different terms due to the different relationship between MP and voter. If he succeeds in this, then PaSoK has really returned and Nikos Androulakis will leave his mark on his party. If not, center-left nature abhors loopholes and no one can rule out initiatives that will go beyond PaSoK. Of course, always without forgetting that in this election room there is also the elephant of the popular right who constantly emphasizes his presence but for some unexplained reason no one pays attention to him. For now, the PASOK is here.
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