Μake us preferred on Google PASOK is beginning to lay out the next phase of its political strategy as Greece moves closer to the next national election, with party officials focusing on policy proposals, organization and a broader effort to strengthen its position within the wider Center-Left.
The discussions at the party’s headquarters on Harilaou Trikoupi Street come after PASOK posted modest gains in six consecutive polls following the Thessaloniki International Fair, where Greece’s major political parties traditionally present their priorities for the coming year.
Party leader Nikos Androulakis set out some of those priorities in an interview with MEGA television on Tuesday morning, focusing in particular on fuel prices and the broader pressure of high living costs. He called for a reduction in the special consumption tax on fuel and said part of the cost could be covered by VAT revenue that has come in above budget projections.
Androulakis said VAT receipts in the first eight months of the year were €1.2 billion higher than forecast, including about €140 million in additional revenue from fuel. He proposed using some of that revenue, along with roughly €300 million from the state budget, to reduce taxes on heating oil and diesel. He estimated that more than €500 million could be made available for such measures by the end of the year.
Androulakis also called for closer scrutiny of the fuel supply chain and lower prices from refineries, while repeating PASOK’s proposal for a permanent mechanism to tax excess profits. He argued that without a significant intervention, fuel consumption, which he said is already falling, could decline further, reducing both household spending and state revenue from fuel taxes.
The leader of PASOK also announced that the party is preparing to submit a legislative proposal on private debt to Parliament next week.
A broader economic agenda
Beyond the immediate pressure from fuel and energy costs, PASOK is also giving greater prominence to proposals aimed at longer term economic problems. These include a National Wealth Fund intended to attract investment and a development bank designed to provide financing tools for small and medium sized businesses.
Kostas Tsoukalas, the party’s spokesman, said PASOK also plans to focus on modernizing the state, strengthening the agricultural sector and changing the country’s economic model. He cited low productivity, the current account deficit, demographic pressures and the loss of highly trained workers abroad among the problems the party wants its economic proposals to address. Tsoukalas said a substantive discussion of PASOK’s proposals would highlight what he described as the party’s qualitative difference from both the government and the rest of the opposition, which he argued was not ready to present a credible alternative for government.
Expanding its presence in Attica
PASOK is also preparing a new round of events in Attica after weekend visits by Androulakis to Santorini, Dimitris Mantzos to Tinos and Anna Diamantopoulou to Syros. At a meeting on Monday which was chaired by Androulakis and attended by a party task force for the Athens region, officials agreed to expand a format already used in central Athens. The plan involves open discussions in squares and other public spaces, with lawmakers and senior party officials meeting residents to discuss specific issues.
PASOK has already held similar events in Lamprini and Agios Pavlos. In Lamprini, Pavlos Christidis and Manolis Christodoulakis took part in a discussion focused on young people. In Agios Pavlos, Stefanos Parastatidis led an event on everyday conditions in public schools. The party now plans to extend the format to other parts of Attica.
Androulakis rejects “Mitsotakis or chaos” choice
PASOK leader, Nikos Androulakis, outlined during his interview with MEGA this morning how PASOK intends to approach the next election. Androulakis said the only poll that ultimately mattered was the one held on election day, adding that national elections were only months away. He rejected what he described as attempts to frame the election as a choice between “Mitsotakis or chaos” or “us or no one,” arguing that voters would turn away from what he called divisive and arrogant dilemmas.
Instead, he said PASOK would ask voters to judge the party on its policy platform, its political team and its independence. Androulakis also sought to make clear that PASOK’s focus remained on the government rather than on rival opposition parties. “Our opponent is the government,” he said, adding that political change should not mean “a return to the past.”
PASOK prepares to mark 45 years since 1981 victory
PASOK is also planning an event around the 45th anniversary of its 1981 election victory, when the party first came to power under the slogan of “Change.”
Party officials want to hold it in Athens’ western suburbs, once among PASOK’s strongest areas of support. The Stavros Venetis indoor arena in Egaleo is currently the leading option, in part because it is easily accessible by Metro and offers an indoor venue if the weather turns.
