A column published by 247 News Agency on August 5 said a debate has emerged in Greece over who is financing Alexis Tsipras's new political party, ELAS, after a report claimed his associates were offering former PASOK officials incentives such as a leased company car to join as paid staff.
The columnist said an unnamed colleague, described as someone who usually reports reliably, had written that people close to Tsipras were approaching former officials of PASOK, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, who now work in the private sector, offering not just satisfactory salaries but extras including a car on a leasing arrangement, in exchange for becoming professional cadres of the party. The columnist called the claim far-fetched, but said it was clear that money was flowing into the new party, up to a point.
The financing debate began after Tsipras's party criticized New Democracy and PASOK over their outstanding loans, a subject Tsipras has raised since the era of Greece's bailout memoranda. An associate of the party leader, named in the column as Ms. Koufonikolakou, said the two parties' combined loan debt totaled about 1.16 billion euros and would never be repaid.
The column linked those debts to PASOK's electoral decline, noting the party's support fell from 40% under George Papandreou to 4.68% under Evangelos Venizelos, a drop that also cut the state funding PASOK received.
Calls for transparency
The columnist said Tsipras should publish all invoices for payments made to his party, along with the names of everyone who paid, so the public could see who owns the party. According to the column, PASOK has recognized it must fight on two fronts, against the government and against Tsipras's party, treating the contest as a matter of political survival.
The columnist also said, without citing evidence, that some wealthy individuals were investing heavily in media outlets with no real commercial future for the sole purpose of backing Tsipras's political project. The column noted that New Democracy and PASOK had themselves previously received funding from the German company Siemens, before Greece's debt crisis.
Elections expected in 2027
The columnist predicted no clear answer on ELAS's financing would be given and said the party would keep avoiding the question no matter how long elections were delayed, calling it one more reason to expect elections in the spring of 2027.
