Tensions rise among top SYRIZA officials
A sudden outburst by SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis during an online meeting of the opposition’s commission preparing the next party congress and the departure of several prominent members are indicative of the party’s fragile unity, even after several dissidents have quit.
Party spokeswoman Voula Kehagia confirmed, in an interview to Skai TV Wednesday, that there were “tensions” in Tuesday’s meeting of the commission, but said their severity was being exaggerated by the media. She insisted that Kasselakis is a unifying figure and added that none of the officials who quit the meeting seek to leave the party.
Tellingly, these officials include Sokratis Famellos, the leader of the party’s parliamentary group, since Kasselakis himself, a political neophyte who was surprisingly elected leader after the last national election, is not an MP.
In the meeting, there were several contentious points involving the party congress, including its very date, October 4-6, which had been decided before the socialist PASOK decided to hold the first round of its leadership election on October 6. Famellos and others called for a change in dates, so as not to have the congress overshadowed by the leadership contest. There were also gripes about organization matters.
At one point, Kasselakis said “whoever doesn’t like it, can leave,” whereupon Famellos and seven other MPs, including former government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili and ex-ministers Yiannis Ragousis and Katerina Notopoulou, left the session. All are considered close to former SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras. MP Nikos Pappas asked Kasselakis to apologize for the outburst, but he didn’t.
Kasselakis has called the eight, in an effort to de-escalate the tension, and met with Gerovasili Wednesday. But his party supporters accuse them of igniting a crisis for no reason.
According to his remaining detractors within the party, Kasselakis would not be adverse to seeing the old “Tsipras guard” depart, even before the congress. But he keeps swinging between accomodation and confrontation.
The organizing commission will meet again Friday. The party’s parliamentary group will meet Thursday.
