It is the moment when Nikos Androulakis emotionally concludes his charged speech, held in the packed hall of the Athenian hotel, and greets, with raised fists, the people who applaud him protractedly.
Then a melody that begins with a synthesizer and an electric guitar is heard from the loudspeakers. It’s the intro from a familiar song. Many are even standing, pulsating rhythmically and taking out their mobile phones to take videos. It is about “Sirius” an instrumental piece by the British band “Alan Parsons Project” which was released in the discography in 1982. A progressive rock sound associated with the Chicago Bulls’ reign in the 1990s.
The Chicago Bulls song
It’s the song played at the United Center before every game. He entered the loudspeakers at the moment when Michael Jordan, with his company, came out of the bellows, ready to compete on the floor of the stadium and win the 6 rings of the world champions, which made them one of the most legendary dynasties in sports. A song that was also associated with the documentary last dance, which broke the attendance record on Netflix and is now also associated with PaSoK.
At the meeting of the K.E. while the specific composition is heard, which in Greek means Sirius and is the brightest star in the night sky, one by one the candidate MEPs are announced and take the stage. They are greeted by Nikos Androulakis who sometimes, outside of protocol, takes the floor to comment. As in the case of the meteorologist Sakis Arnaotoglou who mentioned that on June 9 it will… rain in PaSoK, but also in the athlete Anna Veroulis who invited her to throw away the javelin of PaSoK.
Among the names that were heard were that of the secretary of the party Andreas Spyropoulos, the MEP Nikos Papandreou, the former ministers Yannis Maniatis and Filippos Sachinides, the labor expert Kostas Tsoukalas and others.
But there were also two surprises. One concerns the person of Giorgos Kalliakmanis, the representative of the police with rich television appearances in recent years, whose information wanted to besiege him with the utmost concern that the New Democracy include it in its own European ballot. He himself, after a meeting he had with Nikos Androulakis, was convinced and decided to ally himself with PaSoK and to strengthen this effort made by Harilaou Trikoupi so that on the night of the European elections there will be an official opposition with a popular verdict, confirming with this his move and the Vima report that he first wrote about the contact and the agreement between the two sides.
What Thodoris Zagorakis said to Vima
The second person who caused an impression was that of the captain of the national football team in Euro 2004 Theodoros Zagorakis. The former Member of the European Parliament of New Democracy and now a candidate with PaSoK caused some individual reactions when his name was heard. But applause and shouts of “pick it up” filled the hall.
The stage was addressed to Theodoros Zagorakis and he received his first statement as a candidate for MEP with PaSoK. To a question about why he now chooses PaSoK, Kavaliotis, the former leader of the national team, answered that “just like the first time I got involved in politics, so now I wish to go along with principles that match my own. I am not a professional politician, I am not a non-professional. I am accountable to those I inspired and those I shared the same dreams as me.
I haven’t changed, I’m the same. Today I feel that my own values are described and served by Nikos Androulakis and PASOK KINAL” and continued by emphasizing that he is one of those who believe that things can change “I declare myself present for the future of Greece in Europe. To represent, as I have always done, the ordinary people who still hope, still believe that things can change. Because I am also one of them” he said characteristically.
Emotional speech
Earlier. it was preceded by the speech of the president of PaSoK, Nikos Androulakis, which started one hour late, as the attendance was beyond all expectations and the organizers were forced to change the layout of the hall to accommodate everyone.
Nikos Androulakis apologized for this delay and called on every democrat, every progressive citizen to unite anxieties, hopes and forces with the PASOK, so that it becomes stronger and on June 9th it becomes the official opposition, which will mean the end date of government of the New Republic.
At the same time, he attacked the prime minister several times, stressing that he despises the rule of law and that the European elections will stop the parade of arrogance by the members of the government.
He spoke about the positions of PaSoK on a number of issues such as Education, Health and the welfare state. He mentioned the victories that have been achieved in issues such as the golden visa that PaSoK highlighted with its programmatic speech and emphasized that the party he leads is the only reliable, serious, force, with a realistic plan that represents a new political ethos, far from toxicity and divisive dilemmas.
In addition, he pointed out that the “conspiracy creams” do not contribute anything to the public debate and attacked the president of SYRIZA who twice described him as a candidate for minister of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and a former ardent supporter of him.
At the end of his speech, Nikos Androulakis became emotionally charged when he referred to the leadership of PaSoK and those who remained in the difficult years. while he also made a special mention of the late Fofi Gennimata, who fought for the unity and for the perspective of the faction as he mentioned and emphasized that “we have a duty not to forget these struggles”. Finally, he asked everyone for good strength and a good fight on the way to the polls.
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