The transition of Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) from a Euroscepticist Party into European Social-Democratic Party between 1974 and 1987

Abstract

Eurosceptic rhetoric that PASOK had been expressing for years and had been constantly using for its confrontation with right-wing opponents (Nea Dimokratia). The fall of the junta and the return of Constantine Karamanlis is basically the starting point for PASOK's official expression of hard Euroscepticism. PASOK, as a genuine socialist party, rejected any form of participation in Western-style organizations and was therefore a major ardent against the European idea and European policy of Greece. Initially the party believed that European Integration could only harm the already fragile Greek economy and lead it to a further recession. PASOK took office for the first time in 1981 with the Greek economy presenting structural problems such as unemployment and stagnation. In addition to economic problems the government had to cope with the participation in the European institutions, which had emerged as a consequence of the proposed accession to the EEC by the previous government. Even before taking up duties, PASOK began to revise its political attitude towards the EEC, and it was not talking about leaving anymore. Yet, it opted for a special relationship. The prospect of taking power along with the tension that accompanied this prospect, transformed and evolved PASOK into a different party with genuine pro-European characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to indicate that as the probability for PASOK to take over the country's governance increased, a qualitative change of Euroscepticism from hard to moderate (1977-81) took place. In fact, friction with government power turned it into a pro-European party (1981-89). This analysis will examine specific events that played a role in shaping both governmental and party preferences during the period under consideration. Finally, an important point will be to draw critical conclusions about the reasons why PASOK revised its European ideas and transformed itself into a social-democratic party with a strong unifying factor up to date.