SYRIZA on the brink of civil war
With SYRIZA riveted by internal turmoil, triggered by repeated electoral losses and the assumption of its leadership by “outsider” Stefanos Kasselakis, a representative of the “Umbrella” faction, which represents the left-wing opposition within the party, has told Kathimerini that “it is finished.”
According to reports, the internal opposition is preparing for an exit even before the European elections and dissenters are already drafting political texts to this effect which are highly likely to be published within the month.
The once-almighty SYRIZA has not been playing in the A league for quite some time and is now struggling to compete with center-left PASOK and the communist KKE and disillusioned faction members contend that Kasselakis’ election slogan that he can beat Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis now sounds like a joke.
The internal party opposition seems to be ignoring the will of some 150,000 party members and would rather sit on the bench than play in the starting lineup.
Kasselakis has already conveyed the message that if they want to stay in the party they will have to assume responsibilities, but the Umbrella faction and its cadres are reportedly waiting for the right timing to make the next move.
One of the main objections of dissenters is the controversial Pavlos Polakis and his appointment as the coordinator of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group. The left wing of the party has stressed that if Kasselakis wanted to calm tempers he could simply find another position for Polakis.
For his part, Kasselakis appears unfazed by the possibility of the departure of senior party officials and this will not stand in the way of making the changes he wants.
It probably won’t even bother him. His goal is to get SYRIZA to the European elections and improve its ratings by making significant changes.
