Nikos Androulakis addressed a large gathering at the Aigaleo indoor sports hall to mark 45 years since the historic victory of PASOK in 1981, which falls today, 18 October. The PASOK leader set out the party’s political priorities, sharply criticised the government over the cost of living and its failure to tackle problems, and stressed that political change cannot come without the defeat of New Democracy.
“The Democratic camp, PASOK, is here, its roots deep in society and its eyes fixed on the future,” he said, adding: “In 1981, the Greek people did not simply vote for a change of government; they voted to change their own place in our homeland. That is the duty of our generation: to make politics a force for social justice again, not a mechanism for managing power,” he said, stressing that “Change does not belong to our past; Change is the future we must give our children. And we will win that future together, for a country with room for every Greek woman and every Greek man.”
He said that “our task is to turn the collective ‘we want’ for change into a political ‘we can’” and that “the new Change must open up paths where walls and dependencies are being rebuilt.” He stressed that “we will not accept a country where the few prosper while the many worry about tomorrow” and that “we will not allow Greece to be trapped again between a government that has exhausted the public’s trust and those who governed, failed and are now back, asking us to forget.”
He noted that “Greece needs neither a third term of arrogance and corruption nor a second chance for failure. It needs a fresh start, and that fresh start can be guaranteed by a strong, democratic, progressive camp, with a plan, credibility and no dependencies.”
Mr Androulakis sharply criticised the government, accusing it of raising barriers of inequality through its unjust policies, dividing the few who enjoy provocative privileges from the many who face multiple difficulties.
PASOK’s commitments and proposals
In the face of this reality, he said, PASOK was sending a message: “The new Change will open up paths where citizens see only dead ends. It will open up paths in democracy, in the face of a lack of transparency, corruption, a lack of meritocracy and the abuse of power. It will open up paths in the economy, in the face of the cost of living, oligopolies and the exclusion of small and medium-sized businesses. It will make housing a right again, in the face of the funds. It will renew public healthcare and public education so that their quality does not depend on a citizen’s wallet. It will open up paths so that a child’s future is not determined by what they inherited from their parents or where they were born and grew up.” He noted that “we will fight for a strong Greece, a resilient economy, a fair society with high-quality democracy, and public healthcare and education for all.” He said he was confident that this government plan could become government policy after the next general election—and that change was in every citizen’s hands.
Mr Androulakis noted that, from its founding to the present day, PASOK had been a genuinely patriotic movement with deep roots among ordinary people, whose record in government was indelibly etched in the public’s memory. “PASOK’s relationship of trust with the public was not built on lavish communications campaigns or cheap imitations,” he said. Instead, it “was built through struggle and achievement.”
Mr Androulakis quoted the words with which Andreas Papandreou greeted the historic victory of 18 October 1981: “We are celebrating the victory of Change. And I would like to ask you, amid your celebrations and joy, not to forget that PASOK is the government of all Greeks, and that PASOK is now asking our people for reconciliation. Let the past be forgotten: together, let us move forward with the great and worthwhile task of building the New Greece.”
The PASOK leader said that a force for progress was not one that exploited social dead ends and played on division, but one that united the people and unleashed the country’s creative forces. “PASOK put this into practice. That is how it helped shape our country’s modern social, institutional and geopolitical achievements,” he said. He stressed that PASOK was not founded to adapt to the balance of power at any given time, but to change it. He said its historic role was to ensure that the progressive camp became neither an adjunct to conservatism nor a hostage to populism; to fight the far right; and to unite different social forces in a broad progressive majority.
An appeal to democratic citizens
He said PASOK was here to reach out again to those who were worried, disappointed or staying away: “Together we can win. We are not fighting for power; we are fighting for change.” It was also reaching out “to every democratic citizen who may have voted for New Democracy but cannot accept the corruption and impunity of Mr Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s system” and “to every progressive citizen who wants a modern Left with integrity, a willingness to serve and complete independence from vested interests.” “We do not divide the country’s progressive and democratic community; we unite it,” he said.
Addressing all these citizens, he said that “there is a credible and progressive alternative for government” and that “there can be no political change without New Democracy’s defeat and its relegation to opposition.” He added that “a third term for the same policies would mean four more years of stagnation.” He stressed that “we are fighting only one battle: for first place, for the mandate for political change” and argued that “we are the only ones who can achieve it because PASOK is the credible guarantor of a fresh start for the country, with a plan, integrity and confidence, free of dependencies and turmoil.”
Mr Androulakis outlined the main elements of the comprehensive plan for the country that PASOK presented at the Thessaloniki International Fair, covering the cost of living, demographics, housing, growth, the state, private debt, public healthcare and education. Among other things, he referred to commitments to a 13th salary for public-sector employees and a 13th pension, as well as EKAS for low-income pensioners; amendments to cut the Special Consumption Tax on fuel by using the additional VAT revenue collected by the state as a result of high prices; ending the Golden Visa scheme; and introducing restrictions on short-term rentals and a cap on rent increases. He said the prime minister had rejected all these proposals, and called on the government to bring PASOK’s comprehensive bill to parliament for debate on tackling private debt. He also referred to PASOK’s campaign for 120 instalments and the difference between its proposal and the government’s measure.
Political and strategic autonomy
He stressed, however, that proposals alone were not enough and that “political change requires something more: autonomy. You must not be dependent on the powerful.” As he put it: “How can you take on the banks if you are not autonomous? How can you confront cartels if you depend on the very interests you want to regulate? How can you set rules for funds and servicers if you fear their power? How can you tackle the clientelist state if you have built your party machine on it? How can you defend the public interest if your political career is backed by the oligarchy?”
In this context, he stressed that “autonomy is not a choice. It is a prerequisite for governing. A prerequisite for credibility. A prerequisite for Change.”
He referred to Andreas Papandreou’s slogan on autonomy, “Greece belongs to the Greeks,” to stress that “today, autonomy means that decisions about the country cannot be dictated by powerful economic and geopolitical interests, whether inside or outside the country.” In this context, he said, the slogan “Greece belongs to the Greeks” now meant that “Greece is not for sale to anyone; public goods are not for sale, nor is access to housing or the younger generation’s ability to stay and build a future in their own country.”
He added that autonomy also applied to foreign policy, because a country without strategic autonomy was not truly strong. “And what we have been watching in recent days, with the removal of the former US ambassador, is a symptom that reveals an entire approach to how foreign policy is conducted today. It is Donald Trump’s approach, which turns diplomacy from a relationship between states into a relationship between individuals and a web of vested interests…” he said.
He stressed that “what is most worrying, however, is that some are behaving this way at home too: the government and part of the domestic political and economic establishment have shown themselves willing to adapt to this transactional logic. They queued up for a photograph with the former ambassador and now pretend they do not know her. And some others—even worse—point the finger at those who went, while hiding their own photograph in a drawer.” He argued that recent developments “show how shallow the current government’s foreign policy is. When a government starts to believe that its strength depends on how close it is to one person, it is effectively admitting that it does not trust the strength of its own strategy—and that is where dependencies begin.” He said this was transactional diplomacy and that “neither I nor PASOK have anything to do with this kind of diplomacy; we have proved that in practice.”
He stressed that PASOK had always believed in an autonomous, independent and far-sighted foreign policy, committed to international law, with alliances but no dependencies; with a European orientation but its own voice; and with strategic relationships but no overlords. Speaking about the European Union, he said it risked being sidelined, adding that this was clear once again now that “to cover up the fiasco over the war in Iran, Trump is striking energy deals with Vladimir Putin, undermining the present and future of millions of European citizens.” “Where are the Trump-aligned New Democracy ministers now?” he asked.
He stressed that “the European Union cannot be a bit player in decisions affecting its own future” and that “the world cannot be in need of protection while the European Council fails to take even the most basic joint decisions on measures to support citizens and businesses facing the cost of living.” He reiterated his positions in favour of a Europe with strategic autonomy, a common foreign policy, a unified security and defence policy, and a European army. He added that the European Socialists wanted a common budget that would safeguard both security and the welfare state.
He noted that 21st-century social democracy could not be about nostalgia, and that the challenge for modern progressive politics was to turn growth into social justice, and social justice into real freedom for people.
Among those attending the rally at the “Stavros Venetis” Indoor Gymnasium was independent MP Myrto Korovessi.