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POLITICAL COMMUNICATION AND PROFESSIONALISATION IN GREECE | 131

The first is the replacement of the old campaign styles with new forms of campaigning.
In the 1996 general elections, Prime Minister and Socialist Party (PASOK) leader Costas
Simitis started his campaign by making a daring public statement: ‘We say no to
chicken fights, false promises, meaningless rallies … we do not plan a campaign with
plastic flags, fake portraits or expensive artificial gatherings’.These practices were to be
replaced by a nationwide ‘bus-tour’ (the ‘victory-express’), precinct walks, and televised
debates with the main opposition leader, TV interviews and only one major rally in
Athens. Simitis further insisted that the ‘people must be informed which party has
proposals…which party has the necessary solutions to create a modern Greece’ and
concluded:‘We hope that this campaign will raise the quality of our political life’.

All this was in sharp contrast to the style of the late Andreas Papandreou, PASOK’s
founder. Papandreou, whom Simitis had succeeded a few months earlier, had based
much of his campaign activity on fiery speeches before hundreds of thousands of flag-
waving supporters in many Greek cities. This was often seen as the truest form of
political communication and a form that did not rely on electronic media. New
Democracy’s major party gathering in the elections of 2000 moved from the traditional
Athens’ Sydagma Square to the Olympic Stadium. New Democracy tried to turn its
gathering into ‘an event which produced important media and policy effects. The
congress, as mediated effect, culminated in a spectacle combining image, colour and
sound’(Yannas,2002,p.83).

The second new feature revealing the growing importance of TV was the introduction
of the televised debate.In the past,party workers would mobilise citizens and friends to
attend political gatherings and debates. These were used as a kind of poll: observers
literally judged which leader had the greatest attendance as an indication of who was
likely to win the elections. As campaigning shifted focus towards television, these
political gatherings slowly lost their impact. Nowadays journalists look at the TV ratings
to see which political leader attracts most viewers during their campaign interviews.
PASOK’s founder, Papandreou, had refused to participate in televised debates with his,
then, opponents, citing personal dislike; although alternative televised debates with
lesser politicians did in fact take place.The first televised debate between party leaders
– Simitis, for PASOK, and Evert for New Democracy – took place during the 1996 Political Communication and Professionalisation in Greece
elections. This debate signalled a certain change in election style by a new generation
of Greek politicians. The second televised debate was between Simitis and the New
Democracy’s new leader, Costas Karamanlis. This debate was almost a carbon copy of
that of 1996. The same approach was followed in the 2004 debate, but with the
difference that the leaders of the five political parties represented in Parliament and the
European Parliament participated.

All three debates were broadcast live from the public broadcaster’s TV studio, and were
simultaneously broadcast on most private channels. Tough bargaining between party
representatives over the format of the debates preceded them. Most stations organised 133