“The faction founded by Andreas Papandreou has returned to the political scene as a protagonist,” Nikos Androulakis said at the beginning of his speech Wednesday night at a PASOK campaign rally in Thissio. The next day they appeared at Harilau-Trikoupi, especially pleased to be present at the meeting in Athens. So pleased that there were quite a few who discounted that “11.5% -12% is a given.” A percentage that the party could not score in the polls for a long time.

Achieving a double-digit percentage in today’s elections is a decisive bet for PASOK and personally for Nikos Androulakis. In the course of the polls, the choice of the president of the party will be assessed depending on the strategy followed in previous months, as well as the choice of persons nominated after the change of leadership. In addition to this, Mr. Androulakis himself has made it a condition for the party’s participation in government formation discussions to achieve a “solid double-digit percentage”. Harilaou Trikoupis officials place a strong double-digit percentage in the 11%-12% region, but the general consensus is that even simply reaching a double-digit percentage, regardless of the threshold, will be considered meeting the requirement. However, if the poll’s predictions are confirmed and the party remains unambiguous, then the next day remains uncertain. It has become clear that with a percentage of more than 10%, Harilau Trikoupi will sit down at the post-election table, arguing that the two largest parties have recorded losses – if opinion polls confirm this – and PASOK is taking profits. A percentage of around 12% would mean an increase of more than 40% compared to the 8.1% the party received in the 2019 elections.

If, however, the ballot box results in a marginal improvement in percentage terms, then it is not clear what forces will be activated within the party, since the issue of central choice in strategy and people must be taken for granted. Nikos Androulakis ran an electoral course with which there were disagreements, however, with the exception of their public formulation by Andreas Loverdos, there were no other disputes. At the heart of Androulakis’s strategy was the choice of a clear party line and distancing both from the ND. and also from SYRIZA, criticizing both. A key element that raised surprises, questions and concerns was the constant mention of a third person for the office of prime minister other than Mr. Mitsotakis and Al. Tsipras as a condition for PASOK’s participation in the cooperation government.

The “high double-digit percentage” that Mr. Androulakis has set as a condition for participating in government formation discussions is set by Char officials. Tricup about 11%-12%.

There were voices within the party arguing that it should be clear from the outset that the choice was being made regarding the next day’s alliances. However, Mr. Androulakis chose to remain true to his original choice to the end. This is partly due to the “mapping” of the party base. Part of it, the largest, according to the information, was positively inclined towards the prospect of cooperation with the ND, while the other part turned towards SYRIZA. The position of the PASOK president was also related to the fact that the party could not afford to lose any part of the party base, on the contrary, the goal was to make an effort, given the 8.1% of the previous elections. for something more.

At the program level, the party sought to return to the original values ​​of PASOK, to reunite with the social base that made it omnipotent in the 1980s and 1990s. Thus, the program returns most of the social policy grid implemented by the party, with an emphasis and a reminder of the modernization programs of the national social security, public education, protection of labor relations, the basis of wage regulation, housing policy. , etc. . This seemed to pay off more in the region where the party looks better, and it remains to be seen if this will be confirmed in the elections. However, there was a difficulty in Attica which, if it remained in the electoral struggle, could be decisive.

Mr. Androulakis has brought forward a group of young leaders, his close collaborators, in the process of establishing leadership within PASOK and beyond. These are the individuals who have been at the forefront of media representation in the elections, such as press spokesman Dimitris Mantzos and head of the state constituency Panagiotis Dudonis. Also Eleni Chronopoulou, third in the state after the two mentioned above, and Andreas Spyropoulos, party secretary, who is not a candidate but has had a large burden of election preparation, ballot writing and pre-election coordination.

The PASOK president has largely succeeded in leading the party to elections on his own terms, both in terms of campaign strategy and at the level of prominent leaders. The result of the vote will show whether his choice is justified or not.