Papandreou, Gennimata meet amid party turmoil

17:47 31/1/2019 - Πηγή: In.gr

Former PM George Papandreou and Movement for Change leader Fofi Gennimata are meeting today to discuss issues pertaining to the forthcoming general, local, and European Parliament elections.

The meeting comes amidst deep divisions that rocked the party due to

the ratification of the Prespa Accord.
Papandreou publicly expressed support for the agreement, while Gennimata imposed party discipline and voted down the agreement, leading to criticism that the party (largely Pasok members) abandoned its longstanding support for a compound name with a geographical marker added to the name Macedonia.

Gennimata expelled from the party the leader of the small, cooperating Democratic Left party, Thanasis Theocharopoulos, after his decision to back the agreement became known.

Large numbers of Democratic Left supporters are reportedly abandoning the Movement for Change as a consequence. Theocharopoulos had said that expelling him is tantamount to expelling the small party.
That was to be discussed at the meeting.

Many Pasok members are also reportedly leaving the Movement for Change.

Also on the agenda was Papandreou’s candidacy in parliamentary elections and the electoral district that he can choose as a former PM. It is said that he wishes to represent Achaia, the ancestral homeland of the Papandreou family.

Papandreou’s brother Nikos has also expressed an interest in being a candidate for the European Parliament on the party’s ticket.

The meeting comes on the eve of a meeting of the party’s Executive Secretariat and before a meeting of its Central Committee, which will prepare for a March party convention.