The political clash between PASOK and the ELAS party over its funding continues, with PASOK’s headquarters firing back in response to ELAS’s official statement, once again directing its criticism at Alexis Tsipras. In its announcement, PASOK’s Press Office challenges the explanations provided regarding how ELAS covers its operating expenses, invokes the existing legal framework governing party financing, and argues that “citizens can easily draw their own conclusions,” concluding that “Mr. Tsipras is doing a rebranding exercise hand-in-hand with special interests.”
PASOK: Citizens can draw their own conclusions about the funding behind ELAS’s costly events
Specifically, PASOK’s statement reads: “Through a process of gradual revelation… after 24 hours, the ELAS party responded that its operating expenses, staff salaries, campaigns, and events costing hundreds of thousands of euros are funded solely by its members. For days, party officials had been claiming that the expenses were covered personally by Mr. Tsipras out of his own pocket. Quite an interesting shift!
It appears, however, that they must have a very large membership base indeed to cover such significant monthly costs, as Greek law clearly stipulates:
- Private funding of political parties is strictly limited to individual persons — not companies — through registered contributions made with a tax identification number. No single donor may contribute more than €20,000 per year. After the first €500, all remaining contributions must be made through a bank transfer.
- The ELAS party is not yet eligible to receive funding through anonymous Parliament-certified coupons, as it has not participated in previous elections. Even if it were to request such anonymous coupons, the law caps this form of funding at €20,000 per year.
Citizens can therefore easily draw their own conclusions about the transparency of ELAS party financing and the true source of funding behind its high-cost events. Mr. Tsipras is rebranding himself hand-in-hand with special interests. And since the ELAS party — the same party behind the ‘proud’ negotiation of the third bailout memorandum — claims to have financial and accounting questions about PASOK, we will answer them once again, clearly: PASOK has restructured its debts and strictly adheres to the agreed repayment framework, allocating a significant portion of its state subsidy every year toward that goal. Since 2010, it has not taken a single euro in loans from any source. It meets all of its financial obligations using only the state subsidy it receives. It owes no one a single euro. The level of debt currently being reported is the result of an extraordinarily heavy burden of interest, compound interest, and late-payment penalties amounting to 12–13% of the original debt. If Mr. Tsipras has questions about PASOK’s borrowing history, he is welcome to ask two former PASOK secretaries — Ms. Xenogiannakopoulos and Mr. Ragkousis — who are today among his closest associates.”
