Former youth leader beats out ex-PM to lead Greek socialists

European Parliament lawmaker Nikos Androulakis, a former youth leader, defeated former Prime Minister George Papandreou on Sunday to lead Greece’s socialists, The Associated Press reported. 

According to partial election results, Androulakis earned 68 percent of the vote compared to Papandreou’s 31 percent to lead the Movement for Change coalition. 

Androulakis, who works as a civil engineer, started his political career as a youth leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK).  

The Movement for Change coalition is the third-largest political grouping in Greece’s parliament right behind the ruling conservative party New Democracy and left-wing Syriza.

The PASOK, one of the parties in the Movement for Change, was in power four separate times from 1981 to 2015, the last four years in coalition with New Democracy, according to The AP. 

However, the socialist vote fell sharply during the country’s financial crisis, which started under a right-wing led government but was on Papandreou’s watch as prime minister, The AP noted.