The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Panhellinion Socialistiko Kinima--PASOK), which has alternated in power with ND for more than twenty years, was founded in 1974 by Andreas Papandreou and enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity that led to its massive electoral victory in 1981. PASOK's initial success has been attributed to three factors: Papandreou's charismatic personality; the party's unique, well-articulated locally based internal structure; and a clear leftist and reformist ideological orientation that in many ways matched the electorate's readiness for change at that time.

PASOK began as an attempt to create a modern populist party that rejected the traditions of personalism and clientelism. The new movement brought into the body politic a new group of people who seemed to reinvigorate the political system. PASOK is a cadre party, organized geographically, with the local party members and organizations as the basic units. Local party organizations elect representatives to provincial assemblies, which are run by a provincial executive committee of eleven to fifteen members serving eighteen-month terms. These local functionaries perform the key organizational and mobilizing activities and serve as the intermediaries between the national and local party levels. In addition, trade union, agricultural, youth, and professional organizations (some of which have considerable power) are affiliated with the party and are represented in the party's congress.

The PASOK party congress is the highest organ, which in theory determines party policy and controls the central committee and its disciplinary council. The congress consists of members of the Assembly, of the party central committee, and of the disciplinary council, as well as representatives of local, provincial, and affiliated organizations. In practice, the congress meets seldom; its major function is to provide symbolic democratic legitimacy to decisions made at the centers of true power, the central committee and its executive bureau.

The eighty-member central committee includes twenty members of the Assembly and sixty members elected by the party congress in consultation with the party's president (who has been Andreas Papandreou since the party's inception). The central committee meets at least once every three months. It elects an executive bureau composed of nine members (including the PASOK president) that meets twice weekly to develop policies in its role as the effective ruling body of the party. Papandreou has always exercised iron-fisted control over the ideology and the policy of the party's executive organizations, but he has allowed them much latitude on tactical and organizational matters and the operation of election campaigns.

PASOK has also made a concerted effort to instill party discipline and ideological coherence, which were previously unknown among noncommunist Greek parties. The nine-member disciplinary council, elected by the Party Congress, ensures the compliance of the general membership, and a separate four-member disciplinary committee oversees the activities of the party's parliamentary deputies. Discipline is strict, and a number of dissenters, including some deputies, have been expelled from the party.

Ideologically, PASOK has undergone a massive transformation since its creation, partly in response to Papandreou's own evolution, partly as a matter of practical necessity. The Marxist economics and rhetoric, the strident anti-Americanism, and the opposition to any affiliation with the EC, which marked the first party platforms in the mid-1970s, were gradually abandoned in the two decades that followed.

The general economic policies of the PASOK government that took power in October 1993 did not differ significantly from those of its ND predecessor. PASOK did not challenge the trend toward partial or total privatization of some public-sector companies, although the pace of implementation has been slower in specific cases than under the ND. In foreign policy, the PASOK administration has pursued avidly a close relationship with the administration of President William J. Clinton, making good United States relations a cornerstone of Papandreou's foreign policy (see The United States , this ch.). And the current PASOK government is at least as pro-European as its ND predecessor had been, enthusiastically supporting the EU. Overall, in the mid-1990s the party differed little in rhetoric, and even less in policy, from the social democratic parties of Western Europe.

In mid-1994, as Papandreou appeared ready to seek the presidency in 1995, intraparty bickering increased, and the struggle to succeed him became overt. At that point, six individuals, three "loyalists" and three "reformists", seemed likely contenders for the future leadership of PASOK. The "loyalists" were: Akis Tsohatzopoulos, who then held the powerful position of secretary general of the party, Kostas Laliotis, minister of environment, town planning, and public works; and Gerasimos Arsenis, minister of national defense. The "reformists" (so called because of their insistent calls for modernization, as well as a tendency to deviate somewhat from the party line and criticize Papandreou's policies) were: Vasso Papandreou (no relation to the prime minister), a PASOK deputy and former commissioner of the EC; Theodoros Pangalos, minister of transport and communications, who was highly praised for his handling of the Greek term of presidency of the EU in 1994; and Konstantinos Simitis, simultaneously minister of commerce and minister of industry, energy and technology. Although all six contenders were long-time associates of Papandreou, he was said to favor one of loyalists, who also enjoy much support among party members. On the other hand, in late 1994 the reformists were believed to enjoy growing support among rank-and-file PASOK supporters and uncommitted voters.

Experts believed that a radical realignment of forces at the top level of Greek political power was a possible outcome of the leadership struggle. If, for example, one of the loyalist candidates gained power in PASOK, some PASOK reformists might bolt the party in favor of a scheme that would bring together a coalition of pro-European moderates from ND, PASOK, and Synaspismos. The main basis for such uncertainty was Papandreou's domination of PASOK; his future absence would have an unpredictable impact on both the internal cohesion and the electoral fortunes of the party.

Data as of December 1994

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