Movement of 58 Makes First Move

The event is planned to have a European “air” with videotaped addresses by the social-democrat candidate for president of the Europarliament and incumbent, Martin Schulz, and the head of the socialist group in the European parliament Hannes Swodoba.

PASOK president Evanelos Venizelos, and former prime minister Kostas Simitis have affirmed that will be present, while PASOK mps and cadres are mobilizing party members to attend.

The main speakers at the event will be former PASOK minister Paraskevas Avgerinos, university professor Yannis Voulgaris, actor and Democratic Left (DIMAR) candidate for parliament Yannis Bezos, and younger political figures like Paschalis Aganidis and Haritini Karakostaki.

The representatives of the five center-left movements (Ilias Mosialos' “Dynamic Greece,” “New Reformers,” “Forward!” “Polity 2012,” “Initiative B”) will address the event. The “Π 80” group announced will not participate in the event.

The participation of representatives of DIMAR is interesting, as it has officially turned its back on any collaboration with PASOK. DIMAR press spokesman Andreas Papadopoulos and mp Grigosi Psarianos will attend, as well as DIMAR members that participate in the secretariat of the “58' (Stavros Livadas, Yannis Antoniou, Gerasimos Georgatos, Dora Tsikardani), as well as party members and voters.

DIMAR central committee secretary Spyros Lykoudis will not be there, wishing to avoid any friction with party leadership a few days before the party conference.

Former ministers Tasos Yannitsis, Stavros Benos, Nikos Christodoulakis, as well as noted liberals like Giorgos Pagoulatos and Aristos Doxiadis.

The event is the first shot signaling a regrouping of center left forces ahead of the elections for European Parliament. One of the key figures emerging from this is expected to be the person that PASOK will place at the head of its candidate list, with the names of Tasos Yannitsis, Stavros Benos, Anny Podimata, and Spyros Lykoudis being tossed around.