Kasselakis urges party committee to expel critics as SYRIZA teeters on the brink
SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis has called on the members of the party’s central committee to expel four prominent party cadres who have been highly critical of him since his election during a crucial meeting on Saturday.
Internal divisions have been brewing since Kasselakis was elected leader, with key party members accusing him on media of lacking a clear political ideology and straying from the party’s leftist ideology.
“One says that the party is a comedy show, and he remains in the party. One says the new president is [like Italy’s] Beppe Grillo and [former US president Donald] Trump, and remains in the party. These officials are in your own party. They believe all this and they don’t go away. The question is whether you allow this,” Kasselakis told party members during a heated party meeting punctuated by jeers, applause and interruptions.
“In any other party these officials would have been expelled in minutes, hours. Here, in SYRIZA, these officials remain in the party, weeks later. Do you allow this? Do you accept it? This is the crux of the problem. I want a solution,” he added.
In October, Kasselakis announced he was expelling Nikos Filis, Panos Skourletis, Dimitris Vitsas – all former ministers – and Stefanos Tzoumakas from the party.
If the central committee votes down the request, Kasselakis said he will proceed with a referendum to push through with his decision.
It is not up to the leader to unilaterally expel members. The central committee must vote in favor and then the disciplinary commission must do so. But defying the leader’s wishes would be unprecedented.
