Laughing all the way to the bank

Laughing all the way to the bank, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

I took this picture of Giorgos Papandreou just after a PASOK campaign rally in Thessaloniki last year during the Greek parliamentary elections.

Instead of adoring party supporters the next time he appears in the city in September he will most probably be acompanied by 5 - 10,000 extra police officers to ensure that he and members of his cabinet are not attacked by the very people who voted for him just one year ago.

Giorgos Papandreou in Thessaloniki

Giorgos Papandreou, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Speaking at a press conference in Thessaloniki today. For more pictures click here;

http://www.demotix.com/news/greek-campaign-heats

Giorgos Papandreou

Giorgos Papandreou, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

"Georgios Papandreou (Greek: Γιώργος Ανδρέα Παπανδρέου) (born June 16, 1952), Greek of Greek-American origin, has been leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party since February 2004. "The son and grandson of Greek prime ministers, he was Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs two times (1988-1989 and 1994-1996) and Minister of the Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004. In 2006 he became President of the Socialist International"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Papandreou_(junior)

This was taken less than two hours ago when Papandreou was speaking to reporters in Greece's second city, Thessaloniki.