The silence of Alexis Tsipras

How is Alexis Tsipras, the former prime minister and SYRIZA leader, truly faring? What is he currently engaged in? What does he think about the developments within SYRIZA? Does he concur with the unfolding events and their direction? Is everything unfolding as he planned it?

Is he allowing others, like Pavlos Polakis, his former alternate health minister, to take the lead and do the dirty work, as it were, while he remains in the background to avoid tarnishing his own image?

Those familiar with SYRIZA assert that the party’s transformation is largely Tsipras’ doing. So far, he has opted to maintain a low profile.

Nonetheless, this isn’t the first time SYRIZA has undergone a significant change. While the current shift may be the most dramatic, back in 2015, SYRIZA experienced a profound seismic shift. After June 2015 and the night of the bailout referendum, it appeared that Tsipras would steer the party in a different direction: He switched from a “no” to a “yes” stance, simultaneously distancing himself from his finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, whom he had nevertheless described as a key “asset.”

After the September elections, many felt that the party had not only become pro-bailout but had also compromised its leftist principles. Some members left the party, but many remained.

One thing that is certainly different from the past is that under new leader Stefanos Kasselakis, SYRIZA is becoming a subject of ridicule

However, starting from January 2015, with its alliance with the populist far-right Independent Greeks (ANEL) party, SYRIZA underwent a transformation in its ideological platform. Back then, none of the party’s “comrades” seemed concerned. But now, they are alarmed, particularly by Polakis’ behavior, as it seems to be turning against them.

To be sure, one thing that is certainly different from the past is that under new leader Stefanos Kasselakis, SYRIZA is becoming a subject of ridicule.

In any case, SYRIZA’s much-touted shift toward the center over the previous years has been marked by a series of policy reversals. Tsipras seemed to want to move toward the political center, perhaps feeling that it was necessary to extend his grip on power, yet his inner convictions kept him leaning left. For many, this was evident in his failure to remove Polakis from the party.

Despite his fiery rhetoric, Polakis has been key in supporting this transformation of SYRIZA that is spearheaded by Kasselakis. Tsipras may have been privy to information that the rest of us were not.

When on the night of his election Kasselakis declared that “tonight, light has won,” Tsipras chose to remain silent. So, the darkness must have referred to other senior party cadres such as Euclid Tsakalotos, Effie Achtsioglou, Nikos Filis and Panos Skourletis.

Oftentimes, silence conveys more than words. Perhaps this is the message behind Tsipras’ current stance.