PASOK’s lost faithful
The three-day glorification of George Papandreou at PASOK’s convention last weekend where the former foreign minister was elected the party’s new leader had, naturally, been prepared weeks ago as the climax of the PASOK’s historic leadership change. And its fundamental aim was to rally together all those PASOK voters who have trickled away in various directions, trying to transform their disappointment and discontent into trust and hope. Indeed, this «show» was organized and staged for that segment of PASOK’s voters who – for strictly political and selfless reasons – had decided to deprive the party of its support on March 7. The reasons for this swing are obvious. This particular segment of the voting public (a) did not want to support a party which has been pervaded by corruption, (b) did not form a part of PASOK’s normal clientele, (c) established that the reformist proclamations made by Costas Simitis eight years ago had failed to materialize but that Greek public life had started returning to the mentality and practices of the murky past, and (d) concluded that the fanaticism of government officials was rooted in their fear of losing benefits by being weaned off the State. In view of all this, these former PASOK supporters not only have no reason to tolerate the establishment mentality of a party which has governed for two decades, but have decided to play a leading role in bringing about the party’s downfall.
