The defection of Andreas Loverdos to New Democracy has provoked intense reactions within PASOK, with opposition MPs using particularly harsh language, while Movement circles sarcastically commented that New Democracy took their… Pius. Indeed, PASOK’s Head of Political Planning, Anna Diamantopoulou went a step further this morning, demanding that Andreas Loverdos’ resignation letter from PASOK be made public. Speaking on SKAI radio, Anna Diamantopoulou pointedly emphasized that “there are feelings of anger and sadness among many people who supported Mr. Loverdos to be a presidential candidate twice.”
Anna Diamantopoulou on Andreas Loverdos: He’s someone who contested PASOK leadership twice
Continuing her reasoning, she argued that “Mr. Loverdos is not just a politician, a simple MP or a political figure. He’s someone who contested PASOK leadership twice and in a very serious way. He had 25%, meaning 1/4 of PASOK voters supported him. And the answer to ‘why he left’ was never given clearly.” She also mentioned that “the letter must be made public. People don’t believe anymore.” Additionally, she added that Andreas Loverdos’ defection to New Democracy won’t cause any damage to PASOK since “this particular politician has differentiated his position in a very caustic way, without explaining his political arguments. Often, such political choices bring exactly the opposite results.”
PASOK circles’ reaction to Loverdos’ New Democracy defection
Party circles commented sharply on his political move, characteristically noting: “Mr. Mitsotakis, the time for cashing in has come.” This statement shows the intense displeasure of Charilaou Trikoupi street, which views Loverdos’ move as the product of a political transaction. Charilaou Trikoupi officials, responding to journalists’ questions, stated that: “the Prime Minister who in 2021 attempted to manipulate PASOK’s internal elections by organizing illegal wiretapping, today welcomed Mr. Andreas Loverdos.
In 2023, after his non-election, Mr. Loverdos left PASOK, in 2024 he founded a party before the European elections with the sole aim of depriving PASOK of second place, and for the last year he has been wandering the channels praising the government and supporting its wretched unconstitutional machinations.” Despite not being an official announcement, statements through “circles” reflect the climate within the party and foreshadow a tougher confrontation with New Democracy.
Loverdos: I serve political stability – I won’t open a vendetta with PASOK
Andreas Loverdos spoke about his joining New Democracy and the reasons that led him to it on Wednesday morning (17/9), while simultaneously “unleashing fire” against Nikos Androulakis, saying that “it has been repeatedly judged by citizens that they don’t consider him an alternative solution.” “My choice is to support the country’s stability that only New Democracy can ensure,” he characteristically told SKAI about his decision to join the “blue” camp, adding that “the crisis in France shows you what can happen without stability.”
“I made a beginning that I will support, I will fight hard in the Southern Sector. I didn’t go to New Democracy to take, I want to give to my country,” Mr. Loverdos added, emphasizing that “serving the country’s stability is a paramount challenge for me.” When asked “why now?” regarding his New Democracy defection, the former minister answered “the ‘now’ means that my integration didn’t happen during the 41% period, it’s happening in the most difficult times.”
“I spoke with the Prime Minister after the March reshuffle and hadn’t spoken since 2022 when he called to congratulate me for my victory in the Novartis case. Before 2022, we hadn’t spoken since 2019 when he won the elections and I had congratulated him. That was the contact. We met in early June and that’s where the deal was closed,” Andreas Loverdos continued and noted that:
“We had spoken after the March reshuffle, then there was the Tempe turmoil and from my side I had told him that what dominates ‘Mitsotakis must go and we’ll see later’, takes me back to 2012 and the country can’t go through that again. And then my choice was that I would support the country’s stability, which at this moment only one political space serves, because only it has those characteristics that can ensure this space,” he continued.
Loverdos “fires” at Androulakis: A leader who measures 7% in polls for prime ministerial suitability demanding elections doesn’t stand politically
Asked to comment on PASOK’s reactions, he simply said “I won’t respond to the space that addresses me with turmoil nor will I open a vendetta.” “It seems to me that a leader who measures 7% in polls for prime ministerial suitability demanding elections doesn’t stand politically,” he added about Nikos Androulakis and his call for early elections. “When you say someone should leave and don’t say who should come, and those who demand it don’t even say good morning to each other, then the danger of instability becomes primary. Ungovernability is not a good thing. You can’t call for elections when you’re constantly measured and have been repeatedly judged in elections that people don’t consider you an alternative solution. So you don’t provide what the electoral process guarantees, namely a country’s continuity. I made a political choice that has only political characteristics, not personal ones. I came during a period when the camp needs it, I didn’t go to New Democracy at 41%,” Mr. Loverdos concluded.
