SYRIZA unplugged
The most convenient interpretation is that SYRIZA won the elections 10 years ago as an anti-austerity party rather than a left-wing one. This, the theory goes, led to a gradual loss of support as the party adjusted to fiscal realism and European rationalism.
Following their defeat in 2019, SYRIZA leaders refused to acknowledge that they had risen to power by capitalizing on the so-called “indignant” wave and attracting support from the pool of populist nationalist voters (as they went on to pick Independent Greeks [ANEL] leader Panos Kammenos as coalition partner). Their self-criticism was superficial, primarily addressing communication failures while neglecting to reflect on the anti-institutionalism, clientelism, populism and hostility that characterized key aspects of their political agenda.
The fact that the self-proclaimed wealthy expatriate from Miami took over the party through a process they had agreed upon without his involvement worsened the deadlock facing the party establishment
In 2023, after an unexpected and devastating 17% electoral result that led to Alexis Tsipras’ resignation, the brakes came off, and their decline became both quantitatively and qualitatively uncontrollable. A critical turning point was the ascension of Stefanos Kasselakis to the party leadership, who lacked a fundamental understanding of Greek reality, the history and traditions of the Left, and the mechanisms that shape public life, not to mention the internal issues plaguing SYRIZA.
The fact that the self-proclaimed wealthy expatriate from Miami took over the party through a process they had agreed upon without his involvement worsened the deadlock facing the party establishment. Since then, numerous events have contributed to SYRIZA’s self-degradation and moral collapse, culminating in a desperate attempt to undermine Kasselakis by unprecedentedly barring him from running for leadership.
Could this humiliation have been avoided?
If Effie Achtsioglou, the former labor minister and now a member of the New Left party, had responded to Kasselakis when he expressed his desire to run for the Municipality of Athens…
If Tsipras had swiftly recognized the threat and prevented Kasselakis from portraying himself as a continuation of his leadership before the election…
If the New Left party, a SYRZA splinter group, had been a more convincing political force…
If, after the leadership election, when the paradox began to emerge, all the MPs had challenged Kasselakis and called for his resignation…
If MPs Sokratis Famellos, Olga Gerovasili or anyone else had demonstrated leadership charisma and a credible political voice…
If Kasselakis had listened to those well-meaning individuals advocating for renewal, but not on the terms of superficial television-style politics…
What is clear is that none of this transpired. The decline became uncontrollable, and SYRIZA emerged from the bipolar power structure short-circuited and toxic for the entire Left.
There is no good scenario for SYRIZA, a fact which facilitates a shift of the political pendulum to the right, with anti-establishment sentiment prevailing across the board. Figures like State Minister Makis Voridis style themselves as moderates, while the leader of the far-right Greek Solution party, Kyriakos Velopoulos, expresses concerns over the continental shelf of Kastellorizo island, in the southeastern Aegean.
