The resignation of Charis Kastanidis from PASOK, due to his treatment by Nikos Androulakis, has turned the party upside down.
Lately there has been a movement of cadres openly expressing support for Charis Castanidis and apparently against the actions of the leadership of Nikos Androulakis. It was started by Dimitris Reppas, who, after attacking the PASOK leadership, stressed that Charis Kastanidis should be on the party’s ballot papers.
As he said, among other things, “The operation of political ostracism of Charis Castanides did not reduce Castanides, but the one who is attempting it, The president of PASOK while he continued It is sad to attribute political accusations to an executive like Charis Kastanidis and even at the time when the leadership of PASOK is opening its arms to countless agents who fought abysmally against PASOK when the Kastanidis were fighting for its political victories”.
Dimitris Reppas, as a longtime PASOK veteran, sees the absence of Charis Kastanidis, who came first in Thessaloniki, as a major blow to the party in the city. And he fears that the former minister will join forces with Alexis Tsipras, creating yet another headache for Charilaou Trikoupis.
It should be said at this point that among the top executives, the one who reacted strongly was Pavlos Geroulanos. When he learned of Kastanidis‘s departure, he warned the leadership not to bring Theodora Tzakri into the party, as PASOK is already filling up with peddlers and losing its historical cadres.
Reactions continue
However, apart from Dmitris Repas and Pavlos Geroulanos, there have also been reactions from local PASOK executives. For example, Alexandros Diamantopoulos, one of the best known party officials in Thessaloniki, took a public stand.
The executive claimed that Charis Kastanidis is one of the most important members of modern socialism in Greece and criticized the leadership’s choice to oust him, meaningfully stating that with the leadership’s mentality, PASOK’s road to the elections will be very difficult.
As he said of Charis Kastanidis, he is “one of the active persons and top benchmarks of modern socialism in Greece. Whether one likes him or not, everyone accepts his quality, his moral and polar values and his essential social references. At a time when the hegemony of the right-wing faction, in order to be countered, requires the rallying of the space and political generosity of the leadership, Charis Castanides was and is treated as an enemy. With such a mentality, the only certainty is that the road will not have rose petals.”
Nor was this statement accidental, since the PASOK organization in Thessaloniki is boiling, as Charis Castanides was one of the most beloved and prominent members of the party. Indeed, PASOK executives in the city comment that Nikos Androulakis managed to oust the second candidate in the city, Antonis Saoulidis, creating turmoil in the base while there is a risk that the party will register very low percentages in the first part of Thessaloniki.
Now what else is being heard from local PASOK executives about Nikos Androulakis, who, after ousting historical executives, brought Rania Thraskia and Petros Pappa from Syriazas to the city, is not being said. There are more than a few who say the PASOK president has divorced the party’s historic base in the capital.
