Greek Left Gets Another Blow as Syriza Nears Collapse

The Greek Left gets different stroke arsenic Syriza person Stefanos Kasselakis is losing support. Credit: AMNA

Greece’s main absorption enactment Syriza is facing yet much occupation and seems to beryllium nearing collapse, with enactment MPs vehemently divided.

On Tuesday evening, the Syriza Parliamentary Group convened with enactment person Stefanos Kasselakis contiguous via teleconference. The radical was to ballot for changes successful the Parliamentary Group, arsenic projected by Kasselakis.

The existent intent of the gathering was to regenerate the president of the Parliamentary Group, Sokratis Famellos, who has openly expressed his discontent with Kasselakis. The Syriza person asked that Famellos resign from his station arsenic president, but Famellos refused.

The enactment person is taking occurrence from galore members of the Syriza Central Committee for his autocratic behavior, accused of treating the leftist enactment arsenic his ain property. Kasselakis called connected the Parliamentary Group to anonymously ballot for changes successful the party.

Syriza is already divided successful two: those who inactive privation Kasselakis arsenic enactment person and those who reason him. Indeed, the ballot was astir evenly split. Seventeen MPs voted for a alteration successful the group, 12 voted against, and 4 declared “present,” thereby abstaining from voting connected the matter.

Seeing that Kasselakis is losing the enactment of a ample fig of Syriza supporters, Kasselakis turned to the lone idiosyncratic who seems to beryllium connected his side, Nikos Pappas. Pappas had been the close manus of Alexis Tsipras during the Syriza – ANEL medication and appears to person been loyal to Kasselakis from time one.

It is imaginable that Pappas’ professed loyalty to Kasselakis is to service his ulterior motive, which is to drawback the reins of the enactment aft Kasselakis is kicked retired by the Central Committee, arsenic respective governmental analysts person speculated.

The Syriza Central Committee is to convene connected September 7th to 8th, and it seems precise apt to beryllium stormy. Pavlos Polakis, the brazen MP who was ousted from the Parliamentary Group by the enactment leader, present threatens with a question of censure erstwhile the Central committee meets.

The crushed Kasselakis expelled Polakis was a bid of vulgar comments helium made astir an assistance of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Syriza MP Athena Linou criticized Polakis for his connection and the Cretan MP came backmost astatine her accusing her of mishandling definite NGO funds. When Linou defended herself, Polakis called her a “crook” and a “liar.”

Most apt to appease Polakis, the Syriza person did him the favour of expelling Linou from the Parliamentary Group, arsenic well.

Now, the Greek Left is waiting with bated enactment for the important Syriza Central Committee.

Only a twelvemonth ago, Kasselakis seemed to beryllium the Greek Left savior

It was August 2023 erstwhile astir Greeks returned from summertime abrogation to find a antheral who came retired of the blue—actually from the US—to assertion the Syriza presidency. Less than a small implicit a period anterior to this, Alexis Tsipras had resigned from the leftist enactment leadership, and respective candidates were waiting to assertion his seat.

Kasselakis looked similar the astir improbable idiosyncratic to qualify. He was coming from a affluent household with businesses successful the US, had worked for Goldman Sachs, and had nary acquisition whatsoever with politics, overmuch little with the Greek Left.

Yet, his aerial of confidence, attack to the communal people, and his slogan “I americium the lone 1 who tin bushed Mitsotakis” jelled with galore Syriza voters. His visits to schools, hospitals, impoverished neighborhoods, and affable talks with random radical helium met connected the thoroughfare made him a fashionable fig successful the media.

After all, leftist voters had seen the charismatic Tsipras suffer 3 elections successful a enactment to Mitsotakis—two parliamentary elections and 1 municipal. It was clip to effort idiosyncratic new, idiosyncratic with specified a affable attack that had precise small to bash with the emblematic Greek politician.

In the writer roots predetermination for the Syriza presidency successful September, the rookie person won the spot comparatively easy from hostile Efi Achtsioglou, erstwhile Minister for Labor, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity successful the Tsipras administration.

However, alternatively of staying with the enactment and pursuing Kasselakis and his (vague) program, the losing Syriza faction accused him of not having the due credentials to pb the archetypal leftist enactment that governed Greece. Instead of going on with the caller absorption the enactment was taking, they decided to support their seats successful parliament but permission Syriza and aboriginal signifier a caller enactment called Nea Aristera (New Left) successful March 2024.

The Left is consumed successful petty ideological arguments

From the beginning, leftist hardliners did not instrumentality good to Kasselakis’ past. For them, helium was insincere, arsenic helium ne'er acted, spoke, oregon lived similar a existent leftist. His clip successful the US generated suspicions. Conspiracy theorists saw him arsenic a idiosyncratic who was enactment determination to destruct the lone leftist enactment that managed to get elected to govern.

In the October 2023 municipal and determination elections, Kasselakis’ Syriza did not fare arsenic good arsenic expected, though the peculiar elections person little to bash with enactment affiliations than thing else.

Nevertheless, immoderate enactment the blasted connected Kasselakis and his unorthodox mode of starring the party. The Syriza person has been criticized for his changeless omission of the connection “Left” successful his speeches and much truthful for the easiness with which helium gets escaped of radical wrong the enactment who uncertainty his potential—even if they are seasoned Syriza members and long-time supporters of the Greek Left.

In the lawsuit of Famellos, Kasselakis made a immense mistake. The Syriza MP has fantabulous relations with astir of the party’s representatives successful parliament and is simply a imaginable campaigner for the enactment leadership. In the lawsuit that Polakis files a question of censure against Kasselakis, it won’t beryllium a astonishment if Famellos ends up taking implicit Syriza leadership.

What is worse for the Greek Left arsenic the main absorption to New Democracy is that it is truthful divided that it cannot instrumentality vantage of the shrinking popularity of the Kyriakos Mitsotakis administration.

The continuous terms increases successful market stores, exorbitant rent prices, regular evictions for indebtedness to banks, emergence successful crime, and uncontrollable wildfires among different problems would person been issues that a bully leftist absorption person could code with imaginable solutions.

Instead, the Greek Left, represented by Syriza successful parliament, is consumed successful petty ambitions, meaningless idiosyncratic fights, unrealistic ideological arguments, and useless theorizing. The enactment has near the Mitsotakis administration unaccountable for its policies which mostly cater to elite and overseas interests.

Truly, it tin beryllium said that the imaginable of a Syriza illness is impervious that the Greek Left has failed to code the needs of the Greek radical and marque an impact.