Editing PASOK (section)

=== In government ===
In the October 1981 national elections PASOK won a landslide victory with 48.1% of the vote, capturing 172 seats; it forming the first socialist government in Greece since 1924. Although Papandreou had campaigned for withdrawal of Greece from [[NATO]] and the [[European Union|European Economic Community]], after a strong request by the rest of the party members and its supporters,{{Citation needed|reason=The standard explanation is that this was decided by the leadership, ie the other way around|date=August 2019}} changed his policies towards both organizations. He proved to be an excellent negotiator when it came to securing benefits and subsidies for Greece from the EEC. For example, in 1985 he openly threatened [[Jacques Delors]] to veto the entry of Spain and [[Portugal]] in to the ECC to secure more monetary aid for Greece.<ref>Richard Clogg, Parties and Elections in Greece, 1987</ref> In the June 1985 elections, PASOK received 46% of the vote, winning 161 seats, thus securing a stable parliamentary majority for its second term in power.

It continued to be popular for much of its second term, especially in March 1987 when [[Andreas Papandreou]] successfully handled [[1987 Aegean crisis|a crisis]] in the [[Aegean dispute|Aegean with Turkey]]. By late 1988 however, both the government's popularity and Papandreou's health had declined. The former, because of the press’ reports of financial and corruption scandals that, implicated Ministers and, allegedly, Andreas Papandreou himself as well as because of fiscal austerity measures imposed after the [[Keynesian economics|Keynesian]] policies of the first term. Under Papandreou, total government expenditure rose in 1982 by 6.8%, by 1.4% in 1983, by 5.5% in 1984, and by 11.0% in 1985. As a result of austerity measures introduced in October 1985,<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-06-mn-6270-story.html The World: Greek Wage Freeze to End L.A. Times Archives Sept. 6, 1987 12 AM PT]</ref> however, total government expenditure fell by 4.6% in 1986, and by 1.9% in 1987.<ref>THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREEK ECONOMY, 1951-1991 An Historical, Empirical, and Econometric Analysis by George A. Jouganatos, Greenwood Press, 1992, P.156</ref> The middle of 1987, however, saw [[Costas Simitis]]  (the minister who presided over the austerity program) being dismissed and the austerity policies abandoned,<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015038409911&seq=280&q1=The+austerity+program+also+cost+PASOK Greece, a country study / Federal Research Division, Library of Congress ; edited by Glenn E. Curtis, 1995, P.220-221]</ref> with expansionary economic policies were pursued once again.<ref>[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Greece/1PycRHZEX5YC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Greece+1988+PSBR+hit+16+percent+of+GDP&pg=PA5&printsec=frontcover Foreign Economic Trends and Their Implications for the United States, PREPARED BY AMERICAN EMBASSY ATHENS, MAY 1990, P.5]</ref>

Despite this u-turn, PASOK lost the June 1989 elections with 40% of the vote while the opposing New Democracy received 44.3%. PASOK had changed the electoral law before the elections, making it harder for the leading party to form a majority government, so the legislature was deadlocked.

Another election in November produced a very similar result. After a brief period of a [[grand coalition]] government, in which PASOK participated, a third election in April 1990 brought New Democracy back to power. Despite a 7% lead in popular vote over PASOK, New Democracy could only secure a marginal majority in the [[Hellenic Parliament]], electing 152 MPs out of a total of 300; PASOK had secured a larger number of representatives on a lower percentage of votes, as well as having a small overall lead, in the elections of 1985, under the previous electoral system. Its representation in the [[Hellenic Parliament|Parliament]] shrunk to 121 MPs in 1990.

In opposition, PASOK underwent a leadership crisis when [[Andreas Papandreou]] was prosecuted over his supposed involvement in the [[Koskotas scandal]]. He was eventually acquitted and, in a dramatic twist of fate, in the October 1993 elections led the party to another landslide victory. Papandreou returned to office with 47% of the vote and his re-election was considered by many a vote of confidence of the public against his prosecution. In November 1995, however, Papandreou's health began to deteriorate and the party was racked with leadership conflicts.

During his time in office, Papandreou presided over a wide range of social reforms. His governments carried through sweeping reforms of social policy by introducing a welfare state,<ref>Kefala, Eleni (2007) ''Peripheral (post) modernity: the syncretist aesthetics of Borges, Piglia, Kalokyris and Kyriakidis''. Peter Lang. {{ISBN|0820486396}}</ref> significantly expanding welfare measures,<ref name=looking>Sassoon, Donald (1997) ''Looking left: European socialism after the Cold War''. I.B. Taurus. {{ISBN|1860641792}}</ref> expanding health care coverage (the "National Health System" was instituted, which made modern medical procedures available in rural areas for the first time,<ref name="workmall.com">{{cite web|url=http://workmall.com/wfb2001/greece/greece_history_the_pasok_domestic_program.html |title=Greece The PASOK Domestic Program|publisher=The Library of Congress Country Studies|date=24 March 2007}}</ref>) promoting state-subsidized tourism ([[tourism|social tourism]]) for lower-income families, and index-linking pensions.<ref>Gunther, Richard; Diamandouros, Nikiforos P. and Sōtēropoulos, Dēmētrēs A. (2007) ''Democracy and the state in the new Southern Europe''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0199202826}}</ref>

A number of other reforms were carried out in areas such as trade union rights,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4KW4ePkLPg8C&dq=greece+1988+budget+unemployment&pg=RA25-PP14 Foreign Labor Trends 1986]</ref> shop closing and reopening times,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0sUYgpvYQtcC&dq=Foreign+Labor+Trends+Report+Greece+1988&pg=RA20-PP5 Foreign Labor Trends Report Greece 1988]</ref> social security,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=bXznCwAAQBAJ&dq=greece+1982+social+aid+extended+handicapped&pg=PA232 Ideologues, Partisans, and Loyalists Ministers and Policymaking in Parliamentary Cabinets By Despina Alexiadou, 2016]</ref><ref>[http://aei.pitt.edu/8731/1/8731.pdf Report on social developments: year 1985. V/941/85, April 1986]</ref> education,<ref>[http://aei.pitt.edu/9822/1/9822.pdf Report on social developments: year 1982. (Published in conjunction with the Sixteenth General Report on the Activities of the European Communities 1982 in accordance with Article 122 of the EEC Treaty) ]</ref><ref>[http://aei.pitt.edu/8606/1/8606.pdf Report on social developments year 1984. March 1985]</ref><ref>[http://aei.pitt.edu/8717/1/8717.pdf Report on social developments: year 1986. V/1255/86, April 1987]</ref><ref>[http://aei.pitt.edu/10249/1/10249.pdf Report on social developments: year 1987]</ref> health and safety,<ref>[http://aei.pitt.edu/8607/1/8607.pdf Report on social developments year 1983. March 1984]</ref> and work councils.<ref>[http://aei.pitt.edu/8713/1/8713.pdf Report on social developments: year 1988. SEC (89) 1929 final, 15 December 1989]</ref> A more progressive taxation scheme was introduced and budgetary support for artistic and cultural programmes was increased.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Carl Boggs|Boggs, Carl]] (2005) ''The socialist tradition: from crisis to decline''. Psychology Press. {{ISBN|0415906709}}</ref> Social aid became available to deaf and dumb adults as well as for persons with mental disabilities, minimum pensions were indexed to the minimum wage, a social assistance pension for those aged 68 and over was introduced, and (as noted by one study) "All uninsured employed and self-employed individuals are covered by IKA (social insurance fund)." Social security benefits were also adjusted to price increases, while social assistance disability benefits were extended to new categories. Special family allowances were established for certain groups. Wages and pensions became automatically adjusted in line with the consumer price index every 4 months on the basis of economic forecasts. In addition, all women with unmarried children under 21 could retire at 55, early retirement was extended to more occupations, and low-income households received housing allowances.<ref>Ideologues, Partisans and Loyalists Ministers and Policymaking in Parliamentary Cabinets by Despina Alexiadou, P.232</ref> The role of OAED in vocational guidance and training was strengthened, while subsidies for returning Greek migrants were introduced. Saturday working was also abolished for certain categories of workers.<ref>Ideologues, Partisans and Loyalists Ministers and Policymaking in Parliamentary Cabinets by Despina Alexiadou, P.234</ref>

Various reforms were carried out in education, such as the modernization of university curricula and the introduction of new procedures for selecting and promoting faculty which involved greater participation by students. Higher education was also made available on equal terms to all Greek citizens. New rights for women were also introduced, amongst which included the abolition of the dowry system, the legalization of civil marriage, the decriminalization of adultery for women, and the granting to female farmers their own pension together with the ability to receive (in their own name) loans from the Agricultural Bank. In addition, a New Family Code was established, which declared that wives and husbands were equal partners in their marriages.<ref>THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREEK ECONOMY, 1951-1991 An Historical, Empirical, and Econometric Analysis by George A. Jouganatos, Greenwood Press, 1992, P.130</ref> Agricultural policies of subsidization, cooperatives and price supports were also carried out that improved the overall positions of farmers.<ref>THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREEK ECONOMY, 1951-1991 An Historical, Empirical, and Econometric Analysis by George A. Jouganatos, Greenwood Press, 1992, P.163</ref>

In 1986, the PASOK government [[Greek constitutional amendment of 1986|amended the Greek constitution]] to remove most powers from the President and giving wider authority to the Prime Minister and the Executive Government. However, the dubious methods by Papandreou triggered a [[Greek constitutional crisis of 1985|constitutional crisis]] that ended after the elections of 1985.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clogg |first= Richard | author-link=Richard Clogg | title= A Concise History of Greece | date = 2013 | publisher =Cambridge University Press |location = Cambridge |language=en | isbn = 9781107656444| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M492AgAAQBAJ | page = 191}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last=McDonald| first= Robert |journal=The World Today |volume=41|issue=7 |pages=133–136|date=1985 |title=Greece after PASOK's Victory|url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/40395748 |jstor= 40395748}}</ref> [[Civil marriage]]s, not consecrated by religious ceremony, were recognized as equally valid with religious weddings. The left-wing [[Greek Resistance|Resistance movement]] against the Axis in [[World War II]] was finally formally recognized, and former leftist resistance fighters were given state pensions, while leftist political refugees of the [[Greek Civil War]] were finally given permission to return to [[Greece]]. Various repressive laws of the [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] postwar establishment were abolished, wages were boosted, an independent and multidimensional foreign policy was pursued, and the [[Hellenic Gendarmerie|Greek Gendarmerie]] military police force abolished in 1984.<ref>Richard Clogg, a Concise History of Greece, 2002</ref>