“ We are showing the Greek people an alternative path. Yes, we can do things another way. Yes, we can do better,” stressed main opposition PASOK-Movement for Change leader Nikos Androulakis, in his opening speech at the party's Policy Sectors Conference at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Paleo Faliro on Sunday.
“ Today we are sending a very clear message to the citizens: you deserve much more than what the New Democracy government is offering you. You have the right to a better life and this change will come with the PASOK, with the democratic party’s programme for governance," he said.
Addressing the party’s top echelons, PASOK president's described them as the PASOK's unique comparative advantage, with capabilities unmatched by any other party. “ You do not come from clientelistically funded incubators... You do not depend on anyone,” he said.
He accused the ruling New Democracy party and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of treating "democracy and the institutions like loot, a lever of power in their own political game," and of having "divorced itself" from both ethics and the rule of law.
Androulakis then stressed that things will not change without a clash against vested interests and called on everyone within the party, despite the difficulties, "to fight with unity and dynamically", adding that PASOK stands with ordinary people "who seek credibility and a plan, who do not tolerate corruption and lack of meritocracy" and is a "popular and patriotic movement with deep roots in society."
He noted that the conference also marks a new starting point, as “ the renewal of the policy sectors and the enrichment with new faces make the open party a reality”. He underlined that the issue is to have a clear goal, distinct political priorities and a specific vision, “ otherwise politics turns into a weak technocratic affair, a process that concerns a few...”.
Regarding the measures announced by the government, Androulakis said it was a "last-ditch ploy" that was bound to fail as the "excess surplus conflicts with reality", and that Greek voters could not fail to see that six years of ND governance had brought "widening social inequalities, the decline of the public health and education systems, high prices and the collapse of purchasing power.”
“ What convergence are we talking about, when Greece is the only European country that in 2024 has a lower real GDP, compared to 2010. What changed in Greece with the 36 billion of the Recovery Fund? What modern production model are we talking about when in 2024 we had the second highest current account deficit in the EU,” he added.
According to Androulakis, the fiscal overperformance was "not the product of a resilient and competitive economy, but of a poor quality of life,” while the government was handing out benefits instead of making structural reforms.
He concluded by reiterating the main axes of the PASOK plan:
- A Public Property Management Company to put 40,000 rental properties on the market over a 5-year period.
- Rules on short-term rentals in pressure zones.
- Abolition of the Golden Visa on small islands, high-pressure urban centres and Thrace.
- Amendment of the investment visa (angel visa) to reduce housing pressure in urban centres
- Tax incentives for making properties available to rent
- Measures to alleviate the plight of borrowers and ease rapidly increasing private debt
- Measures to support farmers and agriculture.