OPINION

Leading in blunders

PASOK has been trying to convince voters recently that its new leader George Papandreou is calling the shots in the political arena. But Papandreou has been leading the field in terms of political blunders. And we are talking about major mistakes that even the PASOK-friendly media cannot hide. The most recent genuine political initiative by PASOK was Papandreou’s appointment as party leader. It was a move that reduced New Democracy’s lead but Papandreou is not competent to hold such a post. Since his appointment, he has been using either poor PR tactics (such as his much-trumpeted visit to his ancestral village in Patras) or outright blunders which would have provoked an outcry in the media had they been carried out by ND. The management of the Pachtas affair was the first sign of the new committee’s inexperience. The expulsion of deputies who did not have a chance to defend themselves showed how little respect the party has for democratic procedures. The same goes for Papandreou’s election «by acclaim.» The overtures made to neoliberals Manos and Andrianopoulos – another blunder – also show how much PASOK has distanced itself from the ideological principles that are the quintessence of democracy, at least in European politics. Last but not least was Papandreou’s refusal to face ND leader Costas Karamanlis in a one-to-one debate, preferring to meet with the leaders of five parties to limit damage to his image…

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