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40 years after its foundation, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, from the leading party in the country that ruled almost continuously for 20 years, has turned into a marginal movement that will fight for survival and entry into parliament in the next elections. And the questions as to why it has failed and who is to blame for this are the reason for serious internal contradictions to tear PASOK.
     The anniversary celebration will culminate on Wednesday evening in the neoclassical Zappeion palace in the centre of Athens where current leader of the Socialists Evangelos Venizelos is trying to bring together the still living former party leaders Costas Simitis and George Papandreou and, along with them, all factions of the fragmented movement. Papandreou has refused, arguing that he has an urgent job in London, but former Prime Minister Simitis has confirmed participation.
     The celebrations began last night with a discussion organized by the Andreas Papandreou Foundation, founder of the movement, which was attended by his son George. The group of supporters welcomed him enthusiastically and later, when Evangelos Venizelos spoke, the same group began to boo him and chant, "Yorgo, be firm, the right wing has to go." The right wing is the coalition partner of PASOK, New Democracy, and the implication is that only Papandreou can bring PASOK to an independent government.

     "We will talk on Wednesday about how and why we have come to a government with New Democracy and George Karatzeferis’ LAOS," Evangelos Venizelos replied to the criticisms. LAOS is a nationalist party that participated for short in the ruling coalition and then left it, and failed to enter parliament in the parliamentary elections in 2012. The Democratic Left DIMAR was part of the ruling coalition for short too but it also left the government, and its popularity reduced to the critical limit for entry into parliament.
     The case was not omitted by former Minister of Health and right-wing politician Adonis Georgiadis, who is famous for his peppery language and who commented on Twitter: "The fans chant GAP (George Andreas Papandreou - translator’s note), who was one of the three party leaders who appointed me minister."