Friends,
I did not enter politics to make it a profession. I joined because I believed and still believe that the world changes for the better with collective effort. And whenever I felt that I had to step forward, to take responsibility for the people around me, I did.
Even now in these difficult times. Together with all of you who met and shared common ideas and anxieties, I made and am making a great effort to strengthen the faction.
In the Parliament, in the social spaces, in the neighborhoods I fight with you my battles for our homeland.
I believed and still believe that PASOK, the great democratic party, is a hub where social forces, progressive ideas, and actions that change people’s lives intersect.
And I strive for it to be combative and rough. Friends, On the night of the European elections, some people raised the issue of leadership. I was not one of them. But when the president also embraced this logic, I decided that this process should not turn into a person-centered conflict arena.
And I declared myself present. That was the goal of my candidacy. To politicize the election process. To look for what is holding us back. We must form a strong progressive pole against the arrogance of New Democracy and Mr. Mitsotakis. We want a Greece with opportunities for everyone, without inequalities and discrimination. And that is why I proposed a PASOK that will work collectively. With small bodies, which will legitimize our political decisions and strengthen the leadership.
Today I hear the anxiety of the PASOK people that an election process does not turn into a battle of opponents and a clash of armies. Do not question that moral line of connection that must dominate every intra-party confrontation. I see with increasing concern that personal conflicts are taking over which may endanger the cohesion of the faction.
And I am determined, with the forces at my disposal, to stand against such a development. I want to be part of the solution and not the crisis. Therefore, I have decided not to be a candidate. Because history has proven that always, before would-be leaders, we need guardians of our path. Of our unity and perspective.
I want to thank from the bottom of my heart the thousands of PASOK members and friends who supported me and embraced my candidacy. And to assure them that our common effort does not stop here. Instead, it is now beginning. On October 14, PASOK must not come out injured. And for that I will fight with all my strength.
#PASOK #Milena #Apostolaki #electoral #battle #withdrew #candidacy
