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Once almighty, the party of Greek socialists, PASOK, is now seeking its new face following the resignation of former leader and Deputy Prime Minister in the previous government Evangelos Venizelos.

Next Sunday it will be clear which one of the three candidates will succeed him at the head of the party that is in the most critical period of its existence. Never before in its 41-year history did PASOK have today's extremely low elections rates, namely 4.68%.

In his last speech as party leader during the 10th party congress Evangelos Venizelos said he was only leaving his post, not politics. A day earlier, at the extraordinary parliamentary session that was convened at the request of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Venizelos had expressed the most severe criticism at the government compared to any other political leader.

He sharply criticized the government's position in the negotiations with the creditors and personally addressed Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis, telling him that he should be ashamed of the attitudes against Greece that he had created with his behaviour.

When Evangelos Venizelos turned to the benches where the cabinet members sit and criticized their tactics in the negotiations, Varoufakis said, "Are you saying these things to us?"

Apparently angry, the PASOK leader replied, "Yes, I am saying them to you. Especially and personally to you who are discrediting the country without being aware of the political and personal responsibility you bear. And you have the nerve to ask if I am asking you. Yes, you! As well as Mr. Tsipras who has appointed you and still keeps you in this post."

The three candidates for the leadership of PASOK include former ministers Fofi Genimata and Andreas Loverdos, and one representative of the new generation in the party, Odysseas Konstantinopoulos.

Fofi Genimata was Deputy Minister of Defence in the coalition government that was in power in Greece until the elections on 25 January. Over the years she has held a number of party and ministerial posts, and the fact that she is the daughter of PASOK founder George Genimatas has played a major role in her political career.

Professor of constitutional law Andreas Loverdos has also participated in many governments of the socialists. In 2012, after a conflict with the party leadership, he withdrew and established his political party from which the Contract for a New Greece party has emerged. It took part in the European and local elections in 2014 along with PASOK in the coalition "Elia (olive) - Democratic Party."

Loverdos had a bad reputation in 2012 when, as Minister of Health, he issued an arrest warrant for tens of HIV-positive women and accused them of prostitution and thereby infecting their customers.

Odysseas Konstantinopoulos is a physician and he was elected in 2009 for the first time. On his way to big politics, he has passed through the youth organization of PASOK and is considered one of the close associates of former leader Evangelos Venizelos.

Photo collage: protothema.gr

According to the Greek media, Andreas Loverdos has big chances of winning the elections within the party and so has his opponent Fofi Genimata. In addition, she enjoys the open support of influential representatives within the party. Some commentators define Odysseas Konstantinopoulos as an "outsider" but he argues that he carries the position of the "Elia-Democratic Party" coalition. You can read the interview of Odysseas Konstantinopoulos with GRReporter here.

Whoever of the three is elected leader next Sunday, his main task will be to determine the position of PASOK to SYRIZA, especially in the case of recent early elections. Some party members are firmly rejecting the possibility of rapprochement with New Democracy, although other party representatives are opposing them. A third group of members believe that a probable union and even a merger with the Potami party will ensure the continuation of their political career. Whatever happens, one thing is certain, namely, that in the coming months it will become clear whether PASOK will survive or if its remnants will turn into political history.