Kasselakis challenges doubters, takes swipe at media
In response to harsh criticism, SYRIZA President Stefanos Kasselakis challenged those casting doubts about his leadership of the party to clarify their stance.
Addressing a meeting of SYRIZA’s Political Secretariat on Tuesday, Kasselakis appeared defiant, saying “if you don’t trust me, long live the revival of the will and mandate of the members.”
“If anyone doubts me let them do so here and now. I respect the institutions,” he said. He also reportedly asked each of the members of the Political Secretariat to answer whether they trusted him to be the party’s chairman.
Kasselakis had come under fire from friends and foes alike for compromising the party’s identity after he distributed a questionnaire on SYRIZA’s online platform, iSYRIZA, seeking party members’ assessment of the party’s identity, logo and name. The move drew a strong response from party officials, expressing uncertainty about the purpose of the upcoming party congress this week.
However, Kasselakis reportedly remained steadfast in his position on Tuesday, despite the reactions of SYRIZA cadres.
The meeting of the Political Secretariat had to be reconvened on Tuesday after Kasselakis’ absence on Monday.
During the meeting on Monday, Kasselakis came under heavy criticism even from erstwhile allies.
What was clear from that meeting was that there is no longer any concrete supportive bloc for him among senior ranking officials of the party.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, in remarks outside party headquarters, Kasselakis said that “SYRIZA is too tough to die and you will see that very soon,” while lashing out against the media for “making propaganda against SYRIZA” and for propagating fake news that he is charting his own path in the party defying party cadres.
More specifically, he said it was “a lie” that he was separate from the SYRIZA MPs at the farmers’ rally at Syntagma Square, outside Parliament.
“I was there with them,” he emphatically stated, adding that “this propaganda against SYRIZA must end. From all the media.”
