Crisis within SYRIZA escalating
The ongoing crisis in main opposition SYRIZA appears unrelenting as the leftist party’s newly elected leader Stefanos Kasselakis issued a stark warning on Wednesday to dissenters that they would be excluded from the ballot papers.
Shortly before the meeting of the Bureau of the Parliamentary Group concluded, Kasselakis posted that “anyone who undermines the unity of the Parliamentary Group and the future of SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance will not have a place in future ballots of the party.”
Reactions from the party’s internal opposition were swift, deriding him as “arrogant,” noting that the Central Committee approves the ballots in SYRIZA, not the president.
The warning by Kasselakis came amid reports that many of the deputies – roughly 10 – that did not support him during the party’s leadership election refused his proposals to assume areas of responsibility.
Kathimerini understands that apart from his main election rival Effie Achtsioglou, who rebuffed him, he also contacted Euclid Tsakalotos, proposing that he take over as shadow finance minister, but to no avail. People close to Kasselakis told Kathimerini that given that he is not a member of Parliament, his tough stance was a one-way street.
One of the main objections of dissenters is the controversial Pavlos Polakis and his appointment among the leadership of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group. The left wing of the party stresses that if he wanted to calm tempers he could simply find another position for Polakis.
Later in the day, Kasselakis unveiled the shadow cabinet of the left-wing opposition party. Rena Dourou was appointed shadow foreign minister, while Nikos Pappas will serve as the shadow finance minister, and Evangelos Apostolakis as shadow defense minister.
Unsurprisingly, the shadow cabinet excludes several prominent SYRIZA figures, including members of the “Umbrella” faction, which represents the left-wing opposition within the party. Senior figures such as Tsakalotos, Achtsioglou, Alexis Charitsis, and Nasos Iliopoulos were omitted.
