How did we end up in the “photo finish” of the election in a personality dispute between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Nikos Androulakis? Has it always been like this or has it evolved in a negative direction? K is trying to highlight the dark side of the “relationship” that has dominated the election scene in recent weeks and could prove critical even after today’s election results.

“Different strategies, one goal.” This phrase has been used by Kyriakos Mitsotakis several times over the past few days, trying to explain why the President of PASOK strongly denies cooperation “with N.D. Mitsotakis”. The reality is that New Democracy and the prime minister personally, immediately after the election of Androulakis to the leadership of the party, showed a willingness to lend a helping hand. Indeed, in the early days when PASOK exploded in the polls, gay officials, wanting to play a trick on SYRIZA, said on television that SYRIZA risked falling to third place, giving the newly enlightened leader a hopeless lead. The invitation of Mr. Mitsotakis to the PASOK President for a chance meeting between them in Parliament showed that Maximos wanted to keep an open channel of rapprochement with PASOK, as during the turbulent years of the memorandum they united against “populism”. SYRIZA”.

Dual purpose: either to open a window to the possible need for a coalition government, or to wink at the party’s voters, who have never ceased to be a target for the ND.

Mr. Androulakis soon stated emphatically that the period when N.D. and PASOK “were on the same side” passed. Maximu understood the direction given to PASOK by its new president and it didn’t take long to move on to the next phase: deconstruction.

About a year ago, in the spring of 2022, an attack by government officials on the PASOK president was coordinated with the central argument that he would “deflate” and “do not speak politically.” “The goal was the same, but the approach was different,” says the K analyst, pointing out that since Nikos Androulakis showed that he was not in the mood to have a centralized communication channel, the ND had to bypass it and turn to a third-party base. “PASOK and this space have never ceased to worry the government, as it is a very important reservoir on the way to independence,” a government source explains to K.

Despite the fact that there was an obvious distance between the two parties, in the Palace of Maximos they did everything they wanted, but did not rule out the possibility of joint rule, “so far as the results of the elections showed”, and Mr. Mitsotakis began to attack the President of PASOK, but “ managed.”

Very early, Maximos received a message that the new leadership was Har. Trikoupi was in no mood to negotiate.

The exposure of the wiretapping aggravated the confrontation that had already begun. The government found itself in a quandary and had to apologize to a small center-left party. The PASOK president has begun showing signs of personal conflict with the prime minister, talking about the parastatal government that Maximu is coordinating.

At the time, the prime minister was inevitably on the defensive, but now, with elections less than a year away, it is clear that the gap cannot be bridged. “The prime minister has now realized that the co-management scenario is complex and had to pursue a different strategy for the key goal of self-reliance,” says a government source who accuses Mr. Androulakis of turning political differences into personal revenge. . The same source, commenting on the relationship between them, honestly answers that, in fact, “this relationship never existed.” Heading now to the elections, this was the only way for the prime minister to show Androulakis’ “obsession with him” and to clearly address, as he has done lately, the PASOK voters, who are showing a large percentage of the people that the co-government’s umbilical cord has not yet been cut.

When Kyriakos Mitsotakis was elected prime minister, Nikos Androulakis was still an MEP. Information from Brussels says that the future chairman of the party had particularly good relations with some of his colleagues from the ND. and, speaking to them, he seemed to be waiting for the then new prime minister. “He did not speak negatively of Mr. Mitsotakis, but it was logical to see how he would act,” said a blue-collar source who spoke regularly with Mr. Androulakis, describing a man who is not politically aggressive by nature. The information says that “soon” the view of the PASOK MEP turned negative towards the prime minister, mainly due to his position on the economy, “which did not correspond to Andrulaki’s culture.”

However, the first turning point was the intra-party elections of PASOK. According to well-informed sources, the presidential candidate at the time was deeply concerned without expressing it publicly, as he may not have known he was being followed, but he found “that the government is involved” and is trying to intervene in favor of candidate. The PASOK president had other concerns: “The way Mr. Mitsotakis approached his party was somewhat arrogant, as if PASOK was a petty ND partner,” says a party source.

This trend, according to the same sources, was also reflected in the way Mr. Androulakis was invited. “The institutional route was never used, but it was just impression chatter.” The election of Mr. Androulakis to the leadership of the historical party did not change anything, on the contrary, the “relationship” with Megaros Maximos continued to slip, and the President of PASOK constantly said that the Prime Minister rules arrogantly.

Interceptions

However, the turning point came in August. The wiretapping case caused the relationship between the two political leaders to take on the character of a personal vendetta. Androulakis admitted to his interlocutors that a double attempt to hack into his mobile phone was impossible. The “anti-right” culture that President PASOK had grown up with as a child could now be freed without guilt, as it was officially a “right-wing target.” Harilaou Trikoupis believes that the “obsession” attributed by the Prime Minister to President PASOK is the opposite. “Mr. Mitsotakis never wanted Androulakis to become the president of PASOK, and when he was elected, he did not forgive him that it was not his hand,” says a party source. The next episode of this “Cretan vendetta” will play out after the elections.