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The Paradeisos junction...
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EDITORIAL |
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Tense climate
The government spokesman has repeatedly said that Prime Minister Costas Simitis will lead PASOK into the coming elections. Since last Sunday, however, his reassurances sound as unconvincing as ever. Foreign Minister George Papandreou's remarks on his flight from Brussels did not merely pour more oil in the flames. They essentially gave a different dimension to the issue of succession, fueling a new political momentum inside the ruling Socialists. |
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COMENTARY |
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Deconstructing Simitis
Recent developments within PASOK call for the prime minister's political quiddity. There is no other way of finding out whether Costas Simitis is an asset or bete noire to PASOK, and whether he should lead the party in the looming electoral battle as a victorious general or step down as a spent force. His stamp will be based on a number of contradictory, if not tragicomic, characteristics and the testimonies of senior government cadres and the premier himself.
Simitis won two successive election victories that were widely credited to his personality and strategy. However, over the last couple of years, New Democracy has widened its lead over PASOK. To his credit, Simitis is still regarded as more suitable for premier (even with a paper-thin margin) than Costas Karamanlis, who is considered to be inexperienced and untested. |
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