On September 3, the once mighty PASOK, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, celebrated 40 years of existence. But instead of blowing candles, its leader would gladly exchange blows with the previous PASOK Prime Minister, the enigmatic George Papandreou, heir to the Andreas Papandreou legacy, the party’s founder. It was only two days before, when Papandreou gave a speech at the same venue, Zappeion Hall, during an exhibition of the Andreas Papandreou Foundation. Current PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos was present too, as a speaker. During his speech, there were plenty of boos and jeers. It was inevitable. The animosity between the two men is not something new. It started years ago when PASOK members voted Papandreou as the party’s leader, leaving ambitious Venizelos behind. PASOK members were divided. Now, this division is bigger than ever. After the Andreas Papandreou Foundation’s conference, Former Parliament President Filippos Petsalnikos stated that the new PASOK, with Venizelos at the helm, is not a socialist party but more like “New Democracy’s tail,” as he called it. He also said that when Papandreou announced in his speech that he wants to unify the progressive, leftist, socialist voters, he did not mean that he wants to start a new socialist party. Papandreou failed to appear at Zappeion two days later, as he had arranged to deliver a speech abroad on September 3, the day of PASOK’s 40th anniversary. His supporters believe in him, since he carries the “sacred” Papandreou last name. They also continue to support him because they see that under Venizelos’ leadership, the party got only a meager eight percent in the last elections for the European Parliament. On the other side, Venizelos’ supporters may argue that even though PASOK got only eight percent of the vote, they still have a few Ministers and Deputy Ministers appointed after the June government reshuffle. They can also argue that as Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Venizelos is a capable politician who keeps the party together. In his speech on PASOK’s anniversary, Venizelos commented on the booing he received on September 1, saying that this kind of behavior is not democratic and it shows how unethical the other side is. He made that a strong point in his speech, trying to appeal to those who want a unified PASOK. Many members of the old guard were present: Kostas Simitis, Kostas Laliotis, Kostas Geitonas, Yiannis Kapsis, Petros Efthimiou. Still, the idea of a unified PASOK now is as realistic as the idea of peace between Hamas and the Israelis. Kostas Skandalidis, one of the oldest party members, announced during an interview that “PASOK is dead. Long live PASOK!” Theodoros Pangalos, another old party war-horse, said that “PASOK is finished. It did what it had to do. Now it has to be replaced by something new.” Pangalos went on to say that Venizelos is not the one to bring an air of change to PASOK. Independent MP Markos Bolaris said about Venizelos, “It took 40 years of PASOK to have its leader attack the previous PASOK leader and the leftists.” So what’s next? Venizelos, as party boss, has the right and power to dismiss Papandreou from PASOK. He will not dare do it, of course. The Papandreou name is heavy as lead in post-war Greek politics. Papandreou has the name of his grandfather, one of the brightest and most popular politicians in recent Greek history. And even though he rarely appears in the Parliament seats and most Greeks blame him for the economic crisis and sell-out to the IMF, it seems he has an aura that protects him from all that. He will not start a new party, though. The PASOK name is too powerful to give up. The new start he talked about sounds more like a political cliche than an announcement of something new. On the other hand, Venizelos also talked about a new start for PASOK. “Change” and “new start” are the words all politicians use when they have nothing to say. At present, Venizelos seems very happy to be the number two man in the Greek government and PASOK leader at the same time. He doesn’t need to rock the boat in any direction. Sure, he would like to get Papandreou out of the way, but at the same time he can use him as the bad example. That of a politician who abandoned his country in the hour of need. Or that of a traitor. And even though his party got less votes than the neo-nazis of Golden Dawn, he still acts as if PASOK is the mighty party of old. At the same time, Greek people seem like they couldn’t care less about all the fighting inside PASOK. Who cares who leads the party that got only eight percent in the last elections, one might say. In the minds of many Greeks, PASOK is the party that brought and legitimized corruption in politics and everyday life. Reading the comments under articles about PASOK, one sees that the majority of Greeks blame PASOK for the economic and moral crisis. Hardcore PASOK members blame Venizelos for flirting with the Right. Others daydream and talk about new beginnings. PASOK MPs come and go. Whatever the truth is, it seems that trying to revive PASOK in any form is like flogging a dead horse.
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