Ex-SYRIZA chief steps into turmoil with call for fresh confidence vote
Former SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras intervened in the ongoing party turmoil on Thursday, criticizing the party’s direction and urging new leader Stefanos Kasselakis to seek a fresh vote of confidence from party members.
“I cannot stay silent, nor can I participate in a conference that seems poised to overlook crucial issues in favor of mere optimism,” he said in an unexpected intervention, just hours before the party congress was set to commence, announcing his decision not to attend.
Tsipras rebuked Kasselakis for his recent request for carte blanche and his commitment to retaining party leadership until the next national elections, irrespective of the outcome of the upcoming European Parliament elections in June.
“He appears to be demanding a three-year carte blanche, regardless of the European election results, thus assuming defeat as inevitable and disregarding its repercussions. While some may disagree privately, they seem content to await electoral failure, ready to lay blame on him once it materializes,” he said.
Highlighting that Kasselakis “assumed office without articulating his positions and plans in detail,” Tsipras argued that “to lead the party into the forthcoming election battle, it must be clear that he commands the majority’s confidence at this critical juncture.”
He stressed that this mandate should emanate from the party members who originally elected Kasselakis as president, rather than from the Political Secretariat.
“I believe this to be the sole fair, transparent, and democratic resolution to the present conundrum we face,” Tsipras said.
The former party leader also criticized the recent exodus of 11 parliamentary MPs from SYRIZA and the formation of a new parliamentary group named New Left.
“Those who lost the internal party elections have already exited, having conceded defeat in the leadership contest, showing little concern for the resulting fragmentation, which ultimately benefits our political adversaries,” he said.
