Regarding PASOK’s ongoing search for a strategy PASOK, the “Red Cat” has kept you informed in a timely manner.
The latest news is that the… game of hide-and-seek continues! With Tsipras, with Doukas, with Diamantopoulou, and even with George Papandreou—about whom you’ll read in the adjacent column. According to a veteran party official, “you can’t get any work done with all this ‘a-be-ba-blom’ nonsense.”
And the truth is that many agree with him, as Nikos Androulakis remains committed to anti-right-wing rhetoric, leaving vital space for Alexis Tsipras to address everyday issues.
In recent days, the PASOK president had the opportunity to exchange views with key associates and Movement MPs with whom he attended a wedding in Rhodes. In a more relaxed atmosphere, then, something like a brainstorming session took place. But even there, no decisions were made. As a result, party officials appear in the media responding mostly not to issues raised by the official parliamentary opposition, but rather to the “official opposition” of the polls—namely, ELAS.
Literally, PASOK is following the agenda set by its main rival, whether on social issues or economic ones: from the university admissions process to issues of taxation, pay raises, etc.
In any case, in light of the heat wave, Nikos Androulakis has asked his own people to be on standby to identify and highlight any irregularities in the government’s operations. The question is whether this is enough and whether it is what citizens expect from a party that has governed and has been in the opposition for nearly 11 years.
Instead of a structured program, PASOK posts visually appealing graphics, which obviously are not a recipe for success. If that were the case, everyone would be in politics.
A paid response
It’s not in “Gatos’” nature to speak kindly, but Stefanos Kasselakis’s response to Tzakri’s barbs that he is no longer part of the Left was a paid response. And as for Theodora Tzakri and Alexis Tsipras, whose former vice president—until recently—served as both an MP and a government official: “What the Left is NOT: Closing the banks and leaving people in despair. Excluding party delegates and democracy. To overturn the referendum that you yourself recklessly called for. To hold grandiose events with hidden funds. To distort the will of the people who pay you to be in the opposition. To pass a new memorandum and wipe out the middle class. To change the criminal code at the last minute to benefit the economic oligarchy. To deceive the public for the sake of big business interests while they openly support you. Smoking cigars on yachts just days after the fire in Mati. Handing out succession rings while appealing to the grassroots. Throwing decades-long associates off the balcony, and much more.”
May his mouth be blessed.
Now, regarding the future of Theodora Tzakri, Nikos Androulakis will likely need to be asked about it fairly soon. We remind you that the term limit was the reason for the conflict with Haris Kastanidis. So how will the exception be made? Because reports insist that the deal is indeed in the works.
“In the end, PASOK won’t leave out anyone who criticized it—it’ll take them all back,” said a top party official in a melancholy mood to his friends on the sidelines of the event in Kalentzi marking the 30th anniversary of the death of Andreas Papandreou.
As for the… photo
The time is drawing near. In the coming days, Nikos Androulakis and George Papandreou will have a face-to-face discussion. A source close to the two leading PASOK politicians told our “Cat” that “they speak regularly, but it was decided that there should also be a photo of them together.”
Basically, at Harilaou Trikoupi, they’re waiting for a clear statement from the former prime minister regarding Alexis Tsipras. “Otherwise, there’s room for speculation,” they say meaningfully. And, as the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire (though those days are long gone for us).
What a punch, what an AI Siktir
“The Freedom Movement and Zoe Konstantopoulou with Jo Di in Drapetsona, at Lipasmata, on Sunday, July 5, 2026 (8 p.m.), are launching the most direct-democratic and creative political and cultural initiative!” The phrase in quotation marks is from Zoë Konstantopoulou’s invitation, taken from her party’s official press release. What will the concert be called? “AI Siktir in Power”. Just imagine if she weren’t also preparing to run for prime minister! Sometimes “The Cat” recalls the photo of Zoi with her fist raised, and it gives him goosebumps. For the record, “AI” is a pun, since the artist works with artificial intelligence.
Yiannis, from on high
In the end, Yiannis with one “n” is not easily forgotten, no matter how much the political scene tries to move on. His public commentary on the economy and Europe continues to have that familiar, lofty academic tone that either charms (some) or irritates (most). For the “Red Cat,” Varoufakis remains the protagonist of 2015, though it does give him the benefit of the doubt that he seemed to believe what he was saying and doing in relation to Alexis Tsipras’s about-face. So he’ll continue to watch with interest his attempt to get into Parliament and the tug-of-war with the former prime minister.
