Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his government are pushing the opposition PASOK party leftward to stop centrist voters from leaving New Democracy.
The strategy from Maximos Mansion, the prime minister's office in Athens, aims to brand PASOK as a green SYRIZA to prevent former supporters from returning to the center-left party.
Government officials are seeking to reclaim centrist voters who previously shifted support to New Democracy during recent election cycles. By framing PASOK leadership under Nikos Androulakis as leaning toward radical left rhetoric, ministers hope to close off the party's appeal to moderate voters.
New Democracy parliamentary spokesperson Notis Mitarachi told parliament that PASOK has abandoned the center ground. He stated that PASOK is chasing the strays of the Left and leaving the political center to Mitsotakis.
Clash over pension plans and economic costs
Speaking in Thessaloniki at the inauguration of the Metro extension to Kalamaria, Mitsotakis warned against unfunded opposition commitments. Without explicitly naming PASOK, he declared that in an environment of reduced public trust where costless promises cost nothing, solid relationships of trust are built only through consistency of words and deeds.
The prime minister's comments build on a parliamentary clash weeks earlier with PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis over proposal costs for a 13th annual pension payout. During the debate, Mitsotakis demanded a single figure from Androulakis to quantify the exact fiscal impact of the policy.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis cited General Accounting Office figures and called on PASOK headquarters on Harilaou Trikoupi to submit its economic proposal for official evaluation. Marinakis compared the party's accounting to former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, stating that just as the country experienced Tsipras's mathematics, it now faces Androulakis's mathematics.
PASOK subsequently released its own cost breakdown and rejected government criticisms as unfounded. However, government strategists continue to press the issue of fiscal responsibility ahead of the upcoming Thessaloniki International Fair, where taxation, budget margins, and policy credibility will take center stage.
Disputes over parliamentary appointments and 2015 legacy
Beyond economic proposals, government spokespersons have seized on recent parliamentary votes to paint PASOK as politically aligned with the radical left. Marinakis highlighted PASOK's vote supporting SYRIZA lawmaker Elena Akrita for vice president of parliament while opposing Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras.
Marinakis remarked that Androulakis's party strain-filters and votes against Stournaras while swallowing Akrita. He added that 11 years after the pro-European We Stay in Europe movement, PASOK is aligning itself with extreme representatives of the 2015 street protests.
The We Stay in Europe movement emerged in 2015 during intense bailout negotiations between Greece and European creditors, mobilizing pro-European, reformist citizens against the SYRIZA-led government. A significant segment of those voters later backed New Democracy in subsequent elections.
Mitarachi echoed the critique, arguing that PASOK made a deliberate decision to abandon the middle ground to New Democracy. In response, PASOK rejected the government's characterization of its voting record.
Addressing its vote against Stournaras, PASOK stated that its objection was strictly based on his multi-year tenure leading the Bank of Greece rather than his personal record. On the election of parliamentary vice-presidents, the party stated that its vote for Akrita followed established parliamentary practice.
