PASOK MEP Arsenis Quits Too

With the once-dominant PASOK Socialists facing a raft of defections from its ranks in the Greek Parliament, it has now lost one of its most noted Members of the European Parliament, Kriton Arsenis, who said he’s resigning in protest against his party’s support for the sell-off of Greek assets on the orders of international lenders.
In a letter addressed to PASOK chief Evangelos Venizelos, Arsenis cited political differences with the Socialist party as the reason behind his decision to leave.
The privatization of profitable public enterprises and the sale of state-owned land, archaeological sites and islands, were among the issues that caused friction between PASOK and the European Parliament deputy, Arsenis said in his letter.
Arsenis will retain his seat in the European Parliament as an independent and continue to fight the “irrational and destructive policy of unilateral austerity in Europe and Greece,” he said, which now means he will oppose his former party.