Thanks to Dan Murray for the heads up on this article which was published this morning in the Irish Times
Former PM Papandreou has so far delayed making a formal announcement amid reports that most of his former associates have refused to cut their ties to the PanHellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) founded by his father to join a centre-left splinter group. However, a senior Papandreou aide confirmed yesterday the party would be up and running “within the next two or three days”.
One opinion poll published last week suggested Mr Papandreou’s group could win 4-5 % of the vote, taking a small but critical percentage from the current frontrunner, the hard-left Syriza party. If so, that could hand victory to the centre-right New Democracy party of premier Antonis Samaras.
In a recent letter to Mr Venizelos published on his website, Mr Papandreou said Pasok had lost touch with its popular base and was “going nowhere”. He proposed holding a party congress followed by a leadership election in which grassroots party supporters could participate.
Mr Venizelos, who has suffered a steady decline in Pasok’s popularity since he became leader in 2011, rejected the idea but the Papandreou aide said
It’s clear the politicians have become disconnected from an electorate that’s exhausted by austerity and angry at the old political system. We’ll be getting back to the grassroots on this campaign, trying to give people hope.
Euro-positive in theory if it means a Samaras victory and the euro is indeed higher but I’m not sure how far the two are related at this time given that the story has been circulating out there, or whether European desks a are just trimming back on long USD positions
EURUSD 1.2065 EURGBP 0.7762 EURJPY 145.30
Papandreou- Could yet play a crucuial role in the Greek election