Political fortunes change for Greece’s new Socialist leader

The son and grandson of Greek prime ministers, Papandreou was seen by critics as a pale shadow of his dynamic and charismatic father, Andreas Papandreou, who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement party, or PASOK, and led it with an iron fist to three election victories from 1981 to 1993.

Some of his friends joined his detractors in calling him “Giorgakis’’ - or little George - a likable but not widely respected figure who could do few things right. Even his 2006 election as president of the Socialist International, a world group of socialist and social democratic parties, was greeted with remarks about how many of his predecessors had been politicians past their prime.

Now, at 57, Papandreou has come into his own after leading his party to a resounding victory Sunday over Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis’s conservative New Democracy.

Papandreou was making final decisions yesterday on his new cabinet, which faces the challenge of trying to revive the faltering economy and improve environmental protection. He is to be sworn in today, and will announce his appointments then.

With the economy expected to contract this year after years of growth, and a deficit likely to top 6 percent of the gross domestic product, Papandreou has pledged a stimulus package of up to $4.38 billion and says he will limit borrowing by reducing government waste and going after tax dodgers.

Many consider the Socialists’ victory as more a rejection of a failed government than a personal endorsement of Papandreou, but he won Sunday’s vote by an unexpectedly wide margin and a secure parliamentary majority.

The outcome is one few had expected in 2007, when Papandreou fended off a challenge to his leadership following his party’s second successive defeat at the hands of the conservatives.

As a young deputy in the mid-1980s, he wrote a series of articles laying out his vision of a modernized party and distanced himself from some of his father’s policies. But he also laid claim to his family’s legacy after he became party leader.

He could count on the unwavering support of a hard core of Andreas Papandreou admirers while competing with his challengers, and he shunted aside people who had made their name under previous socialist administrations. He also promoted relative unknowns as he sought to put his stamp on the party.

Papandreou was born in St. Paul, where his father was a university professor of economics and had married his American mother, the former Margaret Chant.

He spent his early years in the United States and a large part of his youth abroad, as his father, who had returned to Greece and entered politics in the 1960s, was exiled under the 1967-74 dictatorship.

He obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology from Amherst College in the United States and the London School of Economics, and was first elected to parliament in 1981 at the age of 29.

With the magnitude of his victory, Papandreou now has a chance to silence his many doubters - though he still faces formidable obstacles because of the deteriorating economy, pervasive corruption, worsening crime, and terrorism.

International ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said yesterday that Greece’s credit rating could improve if the new government implements a “clear, credible and sustainable’’ strategy to address the country’s debts.