The elections in October 1981 sealed the ascending course of PASOK, which managed to gather a significant percentage (48%), against 36% of ND (New Democracy) and 11% of KKE. This was a crucial point in Greek politics, firstly because this was the first instance of a left-socialist party that came in office and secondly because it assured the stability and smooth function of parliamentarism after the transition to democracy. The relatively short course of PASOK towards power was largely due to the rare political accomplishments of its leader Andreas Papandreou. The founder and indisputable leader of the party had the ability to bring together the visions and aspirations of a very large segment of the electorate and - perhaps even more important - to handle their frustrations and prejudices.

Although the width of the expected ‘Change’, a word that epitomized the principal battle cry of PASOK, was never fully vindicated, a series of reforms were introduced concerning aspects of the private and public life. Civil marriage was instituted, as well as consensus divorce and improvements were brought about in family law in favour of women. The above affected radically the relations between the two sexes. PASOK then proceeded to symbolic gestures; it recognized the national resistance against the conquerors, pensioned the veterans, and granted general amnesty as well as the right to political refugees of the Civil war to return to Greece. Important changes were also brought about in the sector of higher education, in labour and syndicalism, but also in the area of health, where a national health system (ESY) was instituted.

A series of economic measures intended for the lowly-paid categories, such as the automatic wage increase, the considerable increase of lower salaries, simply underlined the ‘socialist’ character of the party. Notwithstanding, the overall economic strategy of PASOK expressed through a series of experiments, albeit popular at first, led to economic stagnancy, inflation and an increase in the deficit.