Alexis Tsipras is stepping up efforts to recruit officials from PASOK to the EL.A.S., capitalizing on his party’s improved standing in the polls, where it now ranks second.
This strategy aims to attract mid-level and senior officials from the center-left, with the goal of strengthening its political presence and reshaping the political landscape.
The most recent and notable recruitment is that of Marinos Skandamis, a former PASOK department head, who is taking over the Citizen Protection portfolio in Tsipras’s shadow cabinet. The move came just twenty-four hours after the official announcement of Nikos Androulakis’s departure from his party.
On Monday, Skandamis publicly stated that he would not be running for parliament with PASOK in the upcoming elections, while also criticizing the way the party leadership is handling the issue of political alliances.
In the May 2023 elections, Skandamis ran for a seat with PASOK in the Achaea region, receiving 6,202 votes.
Among the prominent figures in the ELAS shadow cabinet is Argyris Bedeniotis, a lawyer and the son of former PASOK minister Manolis Bedeniotis. Benteniotis has been appointed deputy head of the Development and Entrepreneurship sector.
