Former Greek PM sets up new centre-left party

Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has set up a new political party, reported by the Greek media to be called the Democrat Socialists Movement.

Papandreou led Greece’s centre-left Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) party in a government until November 2011, when he resigned to make way for a grand coalition government between Pasok, the centre-right New Democracy, and moderate left-wing party Democratic Left (Dimar).

Pasok MPs are expected to follow Papandreou to his new party, whose details and logo were submitted to Greece’s election authorities yesterday.

“From tomorrow, we will be taking part in the start of a movement which can and needs to respond to the major issues that affect the country and its people,” Papandreou said in a message yesterday.

However, his old party criticised Papandreou’s announcement.

“Unfortunately, [Papandreou] is behaving like an heir who wants to destroy the Pasok that his father founded, the same party that honoured him by electing him its president and helping him become prime minister,” Pasok said in a statement.

Although Pasok had won 44% of the Greek votes in the 2009 election, they are now polling around 5%, having faced collapse after their support for harsh austerity measures imposed by Greece’s creditors.

The party has since been supplanted on the country’s mainstream left by Syriza, the Coalition of the Radical Left, which is advocating the cancellation of some of Greece’s debts. Polls show that Syriza are the favourites to win a snap election planned for a month’s time.

Papandreou is part of Greece’s most enduring modern political dynasty, and is the third member of his family to serve as Prime Minister of the country.