Kasselakis without barbarians
The day after in SYRIZA finds the new leader grappling with a new reality. Day by day, Stefanos Kasselakis is running out of barbarians. Occasionally, these barbarians serve a purpose. Whenever something goes awry, we readily point fingers at them, making them the scapegoats for various crises. They bear the burden of failures and function as lightning rods, absorbing dissatisfaction and anger. Without them, the expression and direction of these sentiments become uncertain.
SYRIZA’s consistently low approval ratings have been attributed, until now, to those individuals whom the new leadership identified as its own barbarians. Rather than supporting the new president, these figures allegedly oppose him, becoming the catalyst for the party projecting an image of dissolution externally, leading to voter disorientation. Kasselakis attributed SYRIZA’s electoral collapse in the last elections to certain barbarians. He recalled pre-election comments made by former minister Georgios Katrougalos and some vague texts written by the inner-party opposition regarding “local currencies.” He points the finger at them, displaying selective memory.
Kasselakis risks getting what he wished for: a party devoid of opposing voices, unified behind the president, espousing the singular correct political thought and practice
The prolonged inability of the party to persuade voters that it can effectively oppose the government and earn their vote is laid at the feet of the barbarians. They, not the trolling interactions on social media, are blamed for the pervasive toxicity.
Following the departure of the left-wing Umbrella faction (led by former finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos) and the ongoing exodus of executives, the ranks of the barbarians are thinning. Kasselakis risks getting what he wished for: a party devoid of opposing voices, unified behind the president, espousing the singular correct political thought and practice. The barbarians are dwindling, but with their departure, so too vanishes the shield they provided.
Is it mere coincidence that Kasselakis’ predecessor left his own barbarians untouched? There were more than a few who accused him of showing weakness. However, was this a calculated act of self-protection? Preserving them may have diverted accountability away from the leadership. Soon, we will witness the fate of SYRIZA and its new president without the presence of these barbarians. The poet, however, has already intimated that “those people were a kind of solution.”
