Continuity in SYRIZA

We have learned a lot about Stefanos Kasselakis since he burst into Greek politics four months ago: what kind of coffee he drinks, which gym he goes to and that he likes weight training. But he had to visit the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises for us to hear his views on labor relations and an Economist conference to confuse the only issue he had clarified again.

Now we may know even more, since the leader of the main opposition apparently plans to have a talk show once a week on Sto Kokkino radio, with the aim of creating an “unmediated relationship” with citizens. Even though the notion may seem a bit old-hat nowadays, it will be interesting to hear what Kassealkis believes on a number of issues, such as migration, when someone inevitably asks him what he plans to do to get rid of migrants.

We anticipate his responses not just because Kasselakis believes in the “sanitational properties” of the popular vote, but also because such “unmediated relationships” between political leaders and citizens have a tendency to create monsters and, more importantly, precedents. And when a leader has such faith in the people – or at least in a fraction of them, in the 100,000 who vote on party procedures – he will have no problem in denying the leftist legacy of the party he leads.

True, Kasselakis is leading a party that held a national referendum in 2015 in defiance of all logic. The entire party embraced the notion that political determination alone could fix the economy. Top party officials lauded the benefits of “direct democracy” at public rallies, building the populist soapbox the party’s current leader is standing on. 

In this sense, Kasselakis is more SYRIZA than the party’s gatekeeper. Everything the opposition party is going through today is the result of what it did in 2010-2015, using the exact same means.