The battle of the elections will be decided between Mitsotakis and Tsipras, according to the president of PASOK, evoking memories of the gradual decline of the post-dictatorship EDIK.<\/p>\n
There are moments in politics when opponents are not needed to dismantle a party. All it takes are the statements of its own leadership, which, against a backdrop of continuous electoral decline, internal dissent, and strategic confusion, its decline takes on the characteristics of a historical repetition.<\/p>\n
PASOK appears to be going through one of the most difficult periods in its modern history. Not only because it is unable to convince the public that it can offer an alternative governing proposal, but mainly because its leadership is sending the message that it does not believe it can play a leading role. And this is precisely where the \u201cghost\u201d of Ioannis Zigdis appears.<\/p>\n
A leader who went down in political history as the man who, when his party, EDIK, collapsed at the polls, was left all alone holding onto a\u2026 label, without any political clout.<\/p>\n
Symbols without substance<\/b><\/p>\n
Many see a similar picture in PASOK today. The party still has a historic name, symbols, tradition, and an organizational structure. Yet it increasingly seems to be losing what constitutes the essence of any political organization: the conviction that it can win.<\/p>\n
And this perception was further reinforced by the recent admission by Nikos Androulakis that the political landscape is shaping up around the Mitsotakis-Tsipras dichotomy. Perhaps that wasn\u2019t his intention. Perhaps he wanted to offer criticism. But the result wasn\u2019t what he intended.<\/p>\n
Because when a party leader describes the conflict between two other politicians as the dominant political framework, he is in fact relegating his own party to the role of a mere observer, unable to claim power.<\/p>\n
Politics is, first and foremost, a matter of psychology.<\/p>\n
Voters do not readily follow someone who appears to accept that the game is being played elsewhere.<\/p>\n
They follow the one who shows that he believes in victory.<\/p>\n
The greatest damage, therefore, lies not only in this specific statement. It lies in the political message being sent to society.<\/p>\n
If even the PASOK president himself believes that the real contest is between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Alexis Tsipras, then why would a citizen consider PASOK to be the main contender?<\/p>\n
This perception creates a vicious cycle.<\/p>\n
The more the party appears to accept a secondary role, the harder it is for it to attract new voters.<\/p>\n
And the more it struggles to increase its influence, the more firmly entrenched the perception becomes that it is not a force to be reckoned with. Thus, its political decline becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.<\/p>\n
Even more problematic is that this situation comes at a time when significant debates regarding the party\u2019s strategy remain ongoing within PASOK. Party officials are expressing different approaches to future alliances, the party\u2019s ideological identity, and even its electoral tactics.<\/p>\n
However, rather than presenting a cohesive vision for governing, the party\u2019s public image remains fragmented.<\/p>\n
And within this environment, the reference to the Mitsotakis-Tsipras dichotomy served as an indirect admission that PASOK is not at the center of current developments.<\/p>\n
In politics, however, symbolism is often more powerful than intentions themselves. The public does not analyze every phrase. It focuses on the big picture, which suggests that others now dictate the political game\u2014a situation that hardly resembles an effort to restore PASOK to a leading role. Because no party can claim the trust of the public unless it first convinces them that it believes in itself. <\/p>\n
Strategic Problem<\/b><\/p>\n
The political problem, therefore, is not one of communication. It is deeply strategic. PASOK still seems to be searching for its identity, caught between its historical legacy and the contemporary political reality.<\/p>\n
However, history teaches us that when a party begins to accept its role as a third party\u2014an observer\u2014as normal, returning to a leading position becomes increasingly difficult. And then the historical parallels cease to be mere political metaphors. They become warnings.<\/p>\n
The name may remain powerful and the emblem may still evoke memories, but they are not enough to keep a political organization alive. What is needed is social momentum, the leadership\u2019s self-confidence, and the citizens\u2019 conviction that it can truly change the balance of power.<\/p>\n
When these are called into question, even the most historically significant names risk becoming mere references to the past. That is why the \u201cghost\u201d of Zygdis is beginning to resemble, for PASOK, a political mirror, in which some see the image of a party struggling not only to convince the public, but first and foremost to convince itself that it can return to a leading role.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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