October 7, 2009. Copyright 2009, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Greece's Papandreou emerges from the shadow of the past
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, October 7, Graphic News:  George Papandreou, the son and grandson of two former prime ministers, has finally come into his own after leading his Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) to a resounding election victory over the conservatives. For Papandreou, it is the third time lucky -- but will the same be said for Greece?

While the style and scale of Papandreou's defeat over Costas Karamanlis -- Pasok won 44% of the vote -- certainly means that he has emerged from the shadow of his flamboyant father, Pasok founder Andreas Papandreou, he inherits a country in the grip of severe economic crisis and beset by the corruption that has long dogged national politics.

The mild-mannered Papandreou has disproved the critics who wrote him off as a pale shadow of his father, and grandfather George -- some cruelly nicknamed him "Georgakis" (Little George) -- after two earlier election defeats, but he'll need more than patience and perseverance to turn his country's fortunes around. 

Born in 1952 to an American mother in the United States, where his father was in exile, Papandreou has struggled to win the support of his people ever since he entered politics in 1981. He studied in Sweden, as well as in the U.S. and England, and has been mocked for his halting Greek and apparent reluctance to wrap himself in the blue and white national flag of patriotism.

He served as deputy culture minister, education minister and held roles in the foreign ministry before being appointed foreign minister from 1999-2004. In that role, Papandreou, a natural diplomat, won plaudits for smoothing relations with Turkey, as well as with Bulgaria and Albania. He also played a key role in negotiations with Cyprus before it joined the European Union in 2004. To many, it comes as no surprise that he himself will take on the foreign portfolio in his new government.

Papandreou is also leader of the International Socialist Movement, but the respect he has won in the international arena has been less forthcoming at home. After taking over the leadership of the party from Costas Simitis in 2004, he failed to make an impact on voters and sceptics say his victory now owes more to dissatisfaction with Karamanlis and his government than belief in Papandreou's abilities.

The high abstention rate (29%) in the recent polls reflects a deep distrust in the political class, which peaked during riots to protest the shooting of a teenage boy by police last year. Papandreou, who has reformed Pasok into a centrist European Social Democrat party, will need to persuade Greeks that his name may hark back to the past but his government will look to the future, including promoting a slew of green policies.

First and foremost, however, he must drag Greece back from the brink of bankruptcy. He has pledged a £2.7bn economic stimulus package but has not said where this will come from. His first act of splitting the economic and finance ministries appears to signal his determination to balance the books. Lastly, if he manages to bring Greece fully into the 21st century, people might just stop mentioning his father's name.
/ENDS