The article assesses the state of center-left or social democratic politics in Turkey through a comparison with Greece, using two political parties, the Greek Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima or PASOK) and the Turkish Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi or CHP). Formed in the 1970s, PASOK gained control of the government in the 1980s and implemented a program of successful political reform. CHP, on the other hand, failed to gain power and adopted a nationalist, secularist, and anti-reform position. The CHP is seen as needing to develop the adaptability and dynamism of PASOK in order to revitalize Turkey's relationship with the European Union.