Difficult days lie ahead for PASOK, as internal strife resurfaces due to the “war” between the two…PASKΕ factions — now effectively two trade union groups with “green” (PASOK-affiliated) members — and the expected clash at today’s party meeting over the “formula” for holding the Congress at the end of March.

The Panagopoulos affair and the indirect call for the elected president of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) to step down are causing turbulence both within PASOK’s trade union wing and within the party itself, which is trying to manage rapid developments at a time of internal tension due to stagnant poll numbers. PASKE, with thousands of members across Greece, after the announcement issued by the party’s Trade Union Network regarding the Panagopoulos case, is even threatening to withdraw from PASOK. The “green” trade unionists warn they will leave the party if Giannis Panagopoulos is not a candidate for delegate at the upcoming GSEE congress. In Sunday’s Athens Labor Center elections, it is now certain that they will run with two separate ballots.

According to reports, the GSEE president — who is under investigation for alleged embezzlement of state and EU funds through training programs run by GSEE — organized a nationwide teleconference Monday night with 180 trade unionists, following the announcement about his case issued by PASOK’s Trade Union Network, led by Giorgos Motsios. That statement, implicitly but clearly, called on the GSEE president not to seek re-election at the Confederation’s congress, given that his involvement had “tarnished PASOK’s image, regardless of the presumption of innocence.”

Party officials familiar with developments in the trade union arena stress that the Panagopoulos case has accelerated events and that a fierce confrontation between the two PASKE factions is expected Sunday at the ballot boxes of the Athens Labor Center, for the election of delegates who will participate in the GSEE Congress in April. Thus, on Sunday, the PASKE ballot — that of Giannis Panagopoulos — will face off against the “Unity Ballot” formed by Giannis Bouleros (a member of PASOK’s Central Committee), which will include other “green” candidates as well as members from other factions.

It is clear that PASOK’s Trade Union Network seeks to block the possibility of Panagopoulos’s re-election to the GSEE leadership, especially while the investigation into alleged embezzlement of EU program funds is ongoing. It is noted that last year, during the OTOE (bank employees’ union) elections, PASOK’s faction lost control despite securing around 40%, accusing Panagopoulos of having “handed over the keys” to a “right-wing group” by running with a splinter ballot.

What is certain is that PASOK headquarters on Charilaou Trikoupis Street did not avoid creating yet another internal problem through its handling of these sensitive issues — nor will it avoid the coincidence this Sunday (same time, different place) of the clash between the two… PASOKs in the Athens Labor Center elections and the meeting of the Central Organizational Committee of the Congress, whose composition has not yet been announced to the party’s Political and Organizational Secretariat.

Members of the Congress Organizational Secretariat had requested a written proposal on the “formula” and “algorithm” that will apply for electing Congress delegates, but as of this morning had not received a full description of the process. Haris Doukas first raised the issue, later echoed by figures close to Pavlos Geroulanos and Manolis Christodoulakis. The response from the “presidential” camp — close associates of Nikos Androulakis — was that regions where PASOK achieved high percentages in the European elections (e.g., Crete) should be rewarded, and conversely that Attica — which recorded single-digit percentages in the national elections — should effectively be penalized.

Officials continuing to criticize the leadership predict that it will attempt to gain full “control” of the Congress “through these maneuvers,” but say they will not allow the issue to go unresolved. All matters will be raised again at today’s meeting and at Friday’s Political Secretariat session, attended by Messrs. Doukas, Geroulanos, Katrinis, Ms. Anna Diamantopoulou, Ms. Nadia Giannakopoulou, and other party officials.

“Unfortunately, the same course continues”

The depth of differing views and internal tensions within PASOK is also reflected in a letter sent yesterday to the party leadership by members of the Achaia Prefectural Organization and Central Committee members. “We hoped that ahead of the Congress there would be a substantial course correction. Unfortunately, this did not happen,” they stress, on the very day PASOK announced an initiative for realignment and expansion.

As they underline: “The Realignment and Expansion Committee announced today can and must serve as a springboard for renewal, strengthening, and reconnecting the Movement with society. However, it cannot be undermined in practice by strategies that reproduce exclusions, institutional deviation, and targeted political inertia. For the good of the Movement, a clear end to faits accomplis and the silence that legitimizes them is now required. Restoring institutional procedure, activating collective bodies, and safeguarding democratic functioning are prerequisites for political credibility. The responsibility now lies with you.”

With Saoulidis, without Kastanidis in Thessaloniki

Meanwhile, yesterday the two PASOK Prefectural Organizations in Thessaloniki held their 2026 New Year’s cake-cutting event. A large crowd attended, including the party leader and the two MPs who joined from SYRIZA, Rania Thraskia and Petros Pappas.

Also attending, with Milena Apostolaki as speaker, was former MP and PASOK Central Committee member Antonis Saoulidis, who recently appeared on a panel hosted by Alexis Tsipras. Saoulidis has stated he remains in PASOK and is preparing for the Congress, evidently to reiterate his positions on cooperation among progressive forces.

Absent from the event was Haris Kastanidis — not because his strained relationship with Nikos Androulakis remains “on ice” after Androulakis kept the Thessaloniki seat, leaving the former minister out of parliament — but because it was his name day. Mr. Kastanidis remains popular in his constituency, continues to criticize the leadership sharply over party operations, and intends to fight hard in the elections to reclaim PASOK’s seat in Thessaloniki.