Evangelos Apostolakis to join PASOK parliamentary group, expanding seat total to 35

Parliamentary meeting and seat expansion

PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis will receive independent lawmaker and former National Defence Minister Evangelos Apostolakis at his Hellenic Parliament office at 12:00 on Monday, 5 October 2026. The meeting will finalize the former admiral's accession to the PASOK parliamentary group. The addition of Apostolakis, a State MP who previously represented SYRIZA, will bring PASOK's total strength in parliament to 35 seats. Party strategists are considering future candidacies for Apostolakis in the constituencies of A Piraeus or Chania.

Background to the political shift

Apostolakis served as chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff before entering political office and subsequently taking charge of the defence ministry. On 28 November 2024, he announced his resignation from the SYRIZA parliamentary group following the removal of former party leader Stefanos Kasselakis. After maintaining distance from Kasselakis's subsequent political initiative and breaking ties with former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, Apostolakis gradually established communication with PASOK leadership.

Longstanding PASOK figure Kostas Laliotis played a central intermediary role in facilitating the outreach between the party and the former minister. Apostolakis previously attended an intervention by Androulakis in Heraklion, Crete in November 2025 regarding the Vorizia case. On 12 September 2026, he also attended Androulakis's address at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair alongside fellow independent deputy Alexandros Avlonitis.

Expansion of the parliamentary group

The accession of Apostolakis follows a series of recent recruitments from the left-wing opposition into PASOK. Alexandros Avlonitis, an independent lawmaker representing Corfu, joined the party's parliamentary group after meeting Androulakis on 18 September 2026. Former SYRIZA lawmakers Olympia Teligioridou and Lefteris Avramakis also formalized their political cooperation with PASOK following party events in Heraklion.

PASOK officials are exploring further prospective transfers to strengthen their electoral presence across urban centres. Discussions have touched on Nina Kasimati, a SYRIZA lawmaker from B Piraeus with past ties to PASOK, as well as Myrto Korovesi, who initially won election with SYRIZA before resigning. Internal party evaluations indicate that targeted candidates in the Piraeus districts could assist PASOK in contesting seats where the party has historically struggled to elect representatives.

Legislative agenda and broadcast interview

Alongside the expansion of its parliamentary benches, PASOK is preparing several legislative measures for submission in parliament. Party representatives plan to introduce a private debt bill proposing a 120-instalment repayment framework with a 3% interest rate and write-offs on accumulated interest and penalties. PASOK spokesperson Kostas Tsoukalas outlined the rationale for the proposal during a broadcast on OPEN television:

We will bring our own 120-installment plan, with a haircut on interest and surcharges, at a 3% interest rate. And the Prime Minister will have to explain why he wants a 5.8% interest rate, why he does not want debt interest write-offs, why he does not want someone struggling on a 48-installment scheme to enter the 120 plan, and why he excludes debts incurred in 2025-2026.

The debt proposal follows draft amendments introduced by PASOK concerning real estate eligibility under the Golden Visa program and a mechanism to adjust fuel excise taxes based on Italian tax rebates. Following the midday meeting with Apostolakis, Androulakis is scheduled to appear at 22:00 for a televised interview with journalist Panagiotis Stathis on the ERTnews programme Eftheos.