November 7, 2011
George Andreas Papandreou, elected prime minister of Greece in 2009, is a son and grandson of popular former prime ministers. But two years later, with Greece on the verge of default and a possible exit from the euro, not even the Papandreou name could save him.
His commitment to step down as prime minister is not only a devastating blow to one of the more enduring political dynasties in Europe. It may also force a major overhaul of the old-style Socialist Pasok party that was created by Mr. Papandreou’s father and which served as a major roadblock to many of the younger Papandreou’s proposed economic and political changes.
“I think that Mr. Papandreou wanted to reform, but his party failed him,” said Yiannis Boutaris, the mayor of Salonika and one of the few politicians to achieve success outside the nepotism so prevalent in the Greek party monoliths. “He could be forgiven many mistakes because of his name, but the last one — calling the referendum — that could not be forgiven.”
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