Word: pasok
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...imperil implementation of key economic and social reforms. With all of Sunday's votes counted, final returns late Monday showed Karamanlis, who swept to power in 2004 as Greece's youngest prime minister, won about 42% of the poll against 38.9% by the rival Panhellenic Socialist Movement, or PASOK. The result was as much a personal victory for Karamanlis, who took office four years ago without ever serving a government post, as it was a blow for PASOK leader George Papandreou, whose party was left in disarray after its worst showing in 30 years...
...people have decided," Papandreou said in a concession speech six hours after initial polls predicted his defeat. "PASOK waged a strong fight but it didn't manage to win." Minutes later, a beaming Karamanlis, 51 and of noted political pedigree, arrived at the central election headquarters, claiming a victory he described as "a strong mandate for a new and more dynamic beginning," setting off a storm of celebrations that eclipsed weeks of grief - and anger - that swelled from a deadly spate of forest fires that killed 65 people and left much of the country ravaged...
...opinion polling in the last fortnight of the campaign, ruling conservatives and rival socialists appear to be locked in one of the toughest election standoffs in recent history. A flurry of opinion polls published before the blackout showed the conservative New Democracy party had a slight lead against PASOK, the socialist party that incumbent Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis toppled in 2004, ending more than two decades of almost uninterrupted socialist rule. What's more, the August 31 surveys showed that neither of the two major parties had polled over 40%, raising concern among pundits, pollsters and analysts that Sunday...
...bond-trading scandal that embroiled his government in allegations of corruption, however, Karamanlis in August called for elections six months ahead of schedule, hoping to win a fresh mandate. Since then, attempts by his opponents to ride on Greece's wave of discontent have gained little political traction for PASOK, whose mild-mannered leader George Papandreou has failed to lure leftist voters with his thumping criticism and negative campaigning...
...time, the fires became a serious political issue. George Papandreou, leader of the opposition Socialist PASOK party, slammed the government's response as "totally incompetent." Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis - who has declared a state of emergency - fingered arsonists for setting the country ablaze, and several suspects have already been charged. Even if the fires relent before national elections in mid-September, anger over the scale of devastation will likely keep smoldering...