PASOK and Tsipras's ELAS trade accusations over 1.16 billion euros in party debts and bank ties
Greece's main opposition PASOK and Alexis Tsipras's ELAS exchanged fierce accusations on July 30 over 1.16 billion euros in combined debts of New Democracy and PASOK, with each side alleging the other serves bank interests.
Debt figures and bank captivity
On July 30, the Greek Left Coalition (ELAS) of Alexis Tsipras released figures showing that the combined debts of ruling New Democracy (ND) and main opposition PASOK reached 1.16 billion euros in 2025, with most owed to banks. ND's liabilities stood at 602.14 million euros and PASOK's at 565.14 million euros. ELAS spokesperson Theoni Koufonikolakou said in a video statement that the two parties "do not simply owe, they belong to the banks."
You cannot serve the citizens when you owe your political survival to the banks.
ELAS argued that banks treat vulnerable borrowers with foreclosures and auctions while party debts face no such pressure. The party also cited Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, who had said ND would continue to "parasitize on the health of the suckers." ELAS described ND's balance sheet as showing "bad loans" that will never be repaid, and said the party would have shut down if it were a business.
- New Democracy
- 602.14 € million
- PASOK
- 565.14 € million
PASOK's counterattack and funding questions
PASOK responded within hours, accusing ELAS of waging a "two-front war" to keep Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in power. The party said it had not taken a new bank loan since 2010 and had restructured its obligations under leaders Fofi Gennimata and Nikos Androulakis, using state funding to repay. "It does not owe a single euro to anyone," the statement read.
PASOK demanded that Tsipras answer who funds his party, calling it a "privately used" entity with unclear resources. The party noted that on the day Greece mourned three dead firefighters, ELAS's only public statement was an attack on PASOK.
The country needs an honest and consistent prime minister, not a frontman for interests nor a permanent political sponsor of New Democracy and Mr. Mitsotakis.
Tsipras's legislative record under fire
PASOK turned the attack to Tsipras's own record, listing laws passed during his 2015–2019 government that it said favored banks. These included Law 4353/2015, which created loan servicers and allowed funds to buy non-performing loan portfolios; Law 4472/2017 on electronic auctions; and Law 4592/2019, which abolished first-home protection and opened the way for mass foreclosures. PASOK asked repeatedly whom Tsipras was pleasing with those measures.
The party also pointed to its own legislative initiatives, including an April 22 amendment to accelerate amortization of deferred tax credits of systemic banks, and a proposal to tax bank windfall profits and abolish opaque charges. PASOK said the Tsipras-Kammenos government had extended the amortization period to please the banks.
Day-long escalation
- Initial reports of ELAS attack on ND and PASOK debts
- PASOK accuses ELAS of two-front war to keep Mitsotakis in power
- PASOK rejects debt claims, demands funding answers
- ELAS video: debts at 1.16 bn, parties captive to banks
- PASOK: Koufonikolakou took 7 hours to answer, selling fresh air
- ELAS: ND and PASOK will never clash with bank interests
- PASOK: solution is neither Mitsotakis nor Tsipras
The exchange intensified through July 30. After ELAS's initial salvo, PASOK issued a sharp reply by late morning. ELAS then released a video at 16:42 local time, repeating the debt figures and the claim that ND and PASOK are "captive to the banks." PASOK's next statement, at 18:12, said Koufonikolakou had taken seven hours to answer the question "who funds you?" and had ended up "selling fresh air." A further PASOK statement at 18:57 declared that the solution for Greece's future is "neither Mitsotakis of corruption nor Tsipras of entanglement," and that political change will not come from "worn-out materials served again in new wrapping by interests."
