PASOK: The New Headache for Nikos Androulakis After Papavasileiou’s Resignation and Frustration Over Polls

PASOK is facing fresh turmoil following the resignation of Nikos Androulakis’s advisor, Giorgos Papavasileiou, after social media posts emerged in which he praised Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Nikos Dendias, and Grigoris Dimitriadis. Papavasileiou had also shared a post from the ‘Alithia’ group, mocking left-wing student mobilizations. Despite initial hopes within PASOK that the issue would remain confined to political gossip, mounting pressure from party members forced action. Notably, MP Stefanos Parastatidis distanced himself from the appointment, blaming Androulakis directly, calling it a “personal choice.” In his resignation statement, Papavasileiou acknowledged the posts but dismissed the controversy as mere “political gossip,” insisting that two old comments don’t equate to endorsing a government he accused of corruption and mismanagement. This crisis unfolds as PASOK struggles with stagnant poll numbers, trailing far behind New Democracy, while Alexis Tsipras—still without a formal party—is gaining traction. A recent Marc survey showed Tsipras leading with 24.3% on who should be prime minister, compared to Androulakis’s 11.3%. Even more troubling for PASOK, Tsipras was seen as best representing the center-left by 24%, with Androulakis third at 12.6%. Behind the scenes, there’s growing concern over Androulakis’s reluctance to convene a party congress, widely interpreted as fear of suffering a political defeat in the party’s highest decision-making body.