Greater pressure on George to resign

Within the next few days George Papandreou will be faced with the demand from more and more PASOK members to initiate the succession process and withdraw from the leadership.

The dramatic and unexpected intervention by Michael Chrysohoidis is simply a trigger for changes in the movement.

Staff of prospective successors are already planning their action, while MPs from all backgrounds and intra-party stances are preparing interventions. The pivotal moment in the development of initiatives is the adoption of the budget during the week and the payment of the sixth tranche, also expected to come within the next few days.

Loverdos’ side has defined these events as the threshold to start the processes, and members adjacent to Venizelos are warning that Papandreou could not delay beyond December 15. In any case, strong forces within PASOK are not willing to wait for him or give him time until January.

The degraded climate is troubling the staff of the former prime minister, who until now has developed a tactic of delays and attempts to gain time.

On one hand they are talking of the fragile political environment, as the party supports Papademos’ government making critical negotiations on the debt problem, and on the other they present the risk of disruption. And they are not hiding their anger about the attack by Chrysohoides even if there was a direct response to it.