NEWS

PASOK chief approaches Democratic Left over possible cooperation

PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos made an approach to fellow coalition partner Democratic Left (DIMAR) on Thursday in a bid to initiate talks aimed at fostering closer cooperation, and even a formal merger, between the two parties.

Venizelos wrote to DIMAR leader Fotis Kouvelis to invite him to talks in the buildup to PASOK’s congress later this month. Venizelos also proposed that DIMAR take an active part in the congress.

The PASOK leader said the two parties had similar ideologies and he praised the way DIMAR had conducted itself in Parliament. Venizelos suggested that the center-left has greater appeal and political power than its representation in Parliament suggests. The two parties gathered a combined total of 18.5 percent in the June elections last year.

Sources told Kathimerini that Kouvelis views Venizelos’s approach with some skepticism and a possible public relations gesture ahead of PASOK’s congress. It is likely the DIMAR leader will turn down the opportunity to open talks with Venizelos before the congress, postponing any such discussion until after the event.

Nevertheless, Kouvelis has called a meeting of his party’s executive committee at 11.30 a.m. on Friday to decide how to respond to Venizelos’s letter.

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