Pangalos: PASOK falls apart
The government yesterday played down a scathing attack on Prime Minister Costas Simitis and his closest aides by a PASOK party heavyweight, Theodoros Pangalos. «Mr Pangalos has been repeating himself for quite some time now,» government spokesman Christos Protopappas said. «And we repeat that we will not comment on this.» Pangalos enjoys the unique reputation of having been a prominent supporter who helped Simitis become prime minister and leader of PASOK in 1996 and then being fired from the post of foreign minister in 1999, appointed culture minister and then fired for outspokenness in November 2000. Since then he has remained a thorn in the government’s side, giving interviews to newspapers almost every weekend. «The party does not function and no one cares. The Parliament does not function. The highest party organs are an assembly of state officials. The Executive Bureau has nothing to offer. We are in danger of falling apart,» he told Sunday’s Eleftherotypia newspaper. He also accused the government of «arrogance.»
