Former prime minister George Papandreou officially announced his candidacy for the leadership of Movement for Change (KINAL/PASOK) on Wednesday evening., The former PASOK leader said in a video message “We need a new change for the citizens and the country” and that the party must be again have a leading role in the political developments.”
He added that the Democratic Progressive party must go along with the other progressive powers in Europe and in the world that dynamically come back.
“I will contribute with all my power to return our party to greatness and strength, at the forefront of developments again,” he said, calling on all democratic and progressive citizens to participate and celebrate democracy,” he said in his brief statement.
Before his announcement he had briefed on his decision the current leader Fofi Gennimata who has pulled out of the leadership elections scheduled in December, due to health reasons.
With Papandreou joining the KINAL leadership race, the number of candidates has now risen to seven.
The other candidates are: Pavlos Geroulanos, Pavlos Christides, Haris Kastanidis, Andreas Loverdos, Nikos Androulakis and Vassilis Kegeroglou. The latter had indicated he might withdraw if the former PM would enter the race.
The candidacy is certainly a risk move by 69-year-old Papandreou who was practically “toppled” by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozi and the help of some high-ranking PASOK politicians in November 2011, when he proposed them a referendum where Greeks should decide how the debt issue should be managed.
