The incumbent, George Papandreou, had stated right after the general elections that he would ask party members to renew their confidence in him,[2] while Evangelos Venizelos[3][4] and Kostas Skandalidis[5] also declared themselves candidates.

Shortly after, the winner of the elections Kostas Karamanlis gave the first post-election press conference of the winning party, New Democracy, in the Zappeion hall, declaring victory.

On Monday, 17 September, Venizelos had a meeting with the former PASOK leader and ex-Prime Minister of Greece, Costas Simitis, whom he characterized as the "guarantor of unity and democratic and transparent processes" in his party, while he affirmed that his initiatives are not personal.

Simitis, in a carefully written statement, admitted a "painful defeat", prioritized party unity and supported the immediate leadership election procedures as the only means for restoration and long-term crisis avoidance in PASOK.

[16][17] A survey was conducted by GPO for Mega channel on the very next day of the general elections regarding the suitability of each candidate for the party leadership.

[17] Several later surveys showed that the initial clear majority of Venizelos had diminished and that the election would be a close call between the two main candidates, while some of them even gave a slightly higher percentage to Papandreou.