Jump to content

PASOK

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is anold revisionof this page, as edited byErud(talk|contribs)at17:36, 1 March 2009(interwiki).The present address (URL) is apermanent linkto this revision, which may differ significantly from thecurrent revision.

Template:Infobox Greek Political Party ThePanhellenic Socialist Movement,better known asPASOK(Greek:Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα,PanellinioSosialistikóKínima,ΠΑ.ΣΟ.Κ), is aGreekcentre-leftpolitical party.In 1981 PASOK formed the first socialist government in Greece's history, and subsequently ruled the country for most of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. PASOK has served as the main opposition party since thegeneral election of 2004.It is a member of theParty of European Socialistsand theSocialist International.In theEuropean Parliamentit has 8 out of 24 GreekMEPs.On 31 January2006,the party's president,George Papandreou,was elected President of theSocialist International,the worldwide organisation of social democratic, socialist and labour parties.

History

Foundation

PASOK was established on3 September1974following the restoration of Greek democracy after the collapse of themilitary dictatorship of 1967-1974.Its founders wereCostas SimitisandAndreas Papandreou,son of the late Greek centrist leaderGeorge Papandreou,Sr. Its founding mottos were "National Independence, Popular Sovereignty, Social Emancipation, Democratic Process."

The first years

At theNovember 1974 electionsPASOK received only 13.5% of the vote and won 15 seats (out of 300), coming third behind the center-rightNew Democracyparty ofKonstantinos Karamanlisand the centristCenter Union - New ForcesofGeorge Mavros.At theNovember 1977 elections,however, PASOK eclipsed the centrists, doubled its share of the vote and won 92 seats, becoming the main opposition party.

In government

At the October 1981 national elections PASOK won a landslide victory with 48% of the vote, and capturing 173 seats; it formed the first socialist government in the history of Greece since 1924. Although Papandreou had campaigned for withdrawal of Greece fromNATOand theEuropean Economic Community,he rapidly changed his policy towards both institutions.

In 1985 the PASOK government amended the Greek Constitution to remove most powers from the President and give wider authority to the Prime Minister and the Executive Government. Civil marriages, not consecrated by religious ceremony, were recognized as equally valid with religious weddings. At the June 1985 elections PASOK got 45% of the vote and won 161 seats, thus securing a stable parliamentary majority for its second term in power. By 1988 both the government's popularity and Papandreou's health had declined. The former, due to a series of financial and corruption scandals that surfaced, implicating Ministers and, allegedly, Papandreou himself as well as due to fiscal austerity measures imposed after the destabilising Keynesian policies of the first term. Not surprisingly, PASOK lost the June 1989 elections with 40% of the vote while the opposing New Democracy got 45%. PASOK had changed the electoral law a year before elections, making it harder for the leading party to form a majority government, so the legislature was deadlocked. Another election in November produced a very similar result. After a brief period of a grand coalition government, in which PASOK participated, a third election in April 1990 brought New Democracy back to power. Despite a 7% lead in popular vote over PASOK, New Democracy could only secure a marginal majority in the parliament, electing 152 MPs out of a total of 300; PASOK had secured a larger number of representatives on a lower percentage of votes, as well as a smaller lead, in the elections of 1985, under the previous electoral system. PASOK's representation in parliament shrunk to 121 MPs in 1990.

In opposition PASOK underwent a leadership crisis when Papandreou was prosecuted over his alleged involvement in theBank of Cretescandal. He was eventually acquitted and, in a reversal of fortunes, at the October 1993 elections he led PASOK to another landslide victory. PASOK returned to office with 46.9% of the vote. His re-election was considered by many a vote of confidence of the public against his prosecution. In 1995, however, Papandreou's health began to deteriorate and PASOK was racked with leadership conflicts.

The 'modernization' period

In January 1996 Papandreou was forced to retire after a protracted three-month long hospitalization, during which he retained the role of prime minister; he died six months later. He was succeeded byCostas Simitis,the candidate of the modernising,pro-Europeanwing of PASOK, who won an internal vote againstAkis Tsohatzopoulos,a Papandreou confidant. In the first days following his election, Simitis faced the biggest crisis in Greek politics for over 20 years, theImia crisis.Simitis was criticized for his soft stance against Turkey and especially for praising in public the American intervention.

In a PASOK conference in the summer of 1996, following Papandreou's death, Simitis was elected leader of the Party and called early elections seeking a renewed public vote of confidence. Although the Imia incident had somewhat tarnished his image, the country's economic prosperity and his matter-of-fact administration won him the September 1996 general election with 41.5% of the vote. Under Simitis' leadership, PASOK had two major successes that had been initiated byND:In September 1997 Greece won the right to stage the2004 Olympic Gamesand in 2001 it was confirmed that the country would be included in theEuro-zone,for which it had failed to meet the convergence criteria in 1998. Simitis won another term in April 2000, narrowly winning with 43.8% of the vote and 158 seats: a substantial achievement for a party which had been in power almost continuously for nearly 20 years.

In 2000, after the assassination ofBrigadierSaundersby theterroristgroup17 November(17N), and especially with the forthcomingAthens Olympicsbeing a major terrorist target, significant international pressure was exerted on PASOK authorities to recognise that Greece had a terrorist problem and secondly, to bring the terrorist group to justice. Some amongst the westernmediahad even accused PASOK of colluding with the terrorists. Under the guidance of British and US experts, the government intensified its efforts and finally, with a string of events starting at29 June,2002,the 17N members were captured and put to trial.

Nevertheless, PASOK was losing its traditional appeal to the Greek lower and middleclasses.In order to revitalize PASOK's chances for the next elections,Costas Simitis7 January2004announced his resignation as leader of PASOK. He was succeeded byGeorge Papandreou,son of Andreas Papandreou. PASOK hoped that Papandreou could reverse the slide in the opinion polls which saw the oppositionNew Democracyparty, underKostas Karamanlis,7% ahead at the start of the year.

But although Papandreou reduced ND's lead in the polls to 3%, he was unable to reverse the view of a majority of Greek voters that PASOK had been in power too long and had grown lazy and corrupt. ND had a comfortable win at the7 March elections,placing PASOK in opposition after eleven years in office with 40.55% share of the vote and 117 seats.

2007 parliamentary elections

PASOK electoral campaign kiosk in Athens in 2007

On 16 September 2007, theNew Democracyparty headed byCostas Karamanliswon re-electionwith a marginalmajorityof 152 seats in theparliament.DespiteND's falling performance in theGreek legislative election, 2007,PASOKsuffered a crushing defeat, registering 38.1% of the vote, its lowest percentage in almost 30 years, and 102 seats in Parliament.

The dismal result led to activation of theprocedure to select new leadership,or to reaffirm the previous one. The main competitors for the leadership were the incumbentGeorge Papandreouand the party's informal second in command,ProfessorEvangelos Venizelos,MPforThessaloniki.Kostas Skandalidisalso announced his candidacy in September. According to party regulation, leaders are elected in a voting process open to all party members. During theleadership election of 11 November 2007George Papandreou was re-elected by the friends and members of the party as the leader of PASOK. The next party congress has been scheduled for February, 2008.

Party Organization

Ideology

Party leaders

Electoral performance, Greek parliamentary elections 1974-2007

Year Party Leader Number of votes Percentage of votes Number of members in theHellenic Parliament Position in Parliament
1974
Andreas Papandreou
666,413
13.6%
12
Minor opposition party
1977
Andreas Papandreou
1,300,025
25.3%
93
Main opposition party
1981
Andreas Papandreou
2,726,309
48.1%
172
Government
1985
Andreas Papandreou
2,916,735
45.8%
161
Government
1989-I
Andreas Papandreou
2,551,518
39.1%
125
Main opposition party
1989-II
Andreas Papandreou
2,724,334
40.7%
128
Part of an all-party coalition government
1990
Andreas Papandreou
2,543,042
38.6%
123
Main opposition party
1993
Andreas Papandreou
3,234,777
46.9%
170
Government
1996
Costas Simitis
2,813,245
41.5%
162
Government
2000
Costas Simitis
3,007,596
43.8%
158
Government
2004
George A. Papandreou
3,002,531
40.6%
117
Main opposition party
2007
George A. Papandreou
2,727,853
38.10%
102
Main opposition party

See also

References

  • Dimitris Michalopoulos, "PASOK and the Eastern Block", inGreece under Socialism,New Rochelle, New York: Orpheus Publishing Inc., 1988, pp.339-337. ISBN 0-89241-460-X
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PASOK&oldid=274185619"