SYRIZA president comes under fire at tumultuous political secretariat meeting

The festering tension within main opposition SYRIZA was on display again on Thursday after the leadership of Stefanos Kasselakis was openly challenged in the post-summer meeting of the party’s political secretariat.

Recently ousted party MP Pavlos Polakis called for a change in leadership while eight leading SYRIZA members representing the group of 87 expressed their challenge by walking out of the meeting.

Polakis, a former mentor of Kasselakis, told members that “the leadership cannot move forward like this.”

“It cannot provide a political solution. Change is needed, and I will contribute to this effort for change,” he stated.

Polakis had hinted that he would throw down the gauntlet prior to the meeting with a social media post in response to a citizen who urged him to run as a candidate, saying, “All in good time.”

For their part, the eight members who once again withdrew from a meeting of the body stressed that “we do not legitimize procedures, behaviors and decisions that trivialize us as individuals and our party.”

In their statement, they expressed opposition to the president’s proposal regarding the party’s media outlets and his attempt to enter Parliament by pressuring SYRIZA MPs to resign so he can take their place.

“The refusal to provide financial data to the political secretariat speaks volumes about the rules being imposed in the new SYRIZA, which in no way represents the left,” they noted.

Taking the floor, Kasselakis, who had been irritated by the fact that the leadership issue raised by Polakis had already been leaked to the press, did not express any intention of stepping down.

“I’m not picking up the gauntlet. I will not inconvenience the people of SYRIZA. Whoever wants to, can file a motion to the central committee,” he stated.

The question now is whether the central committee on September 7-8 will be a prelude to developments in the party. 

Polakis, an MP from Hania, has never forgiven Kasselakis for not supporting him in the Athina Linou affair which led to his expulsion from SYRIZA’s parliamentary group.

The expulsion came after Polakis verbally attacked an aide to Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis during a parliamentary debate in July on the government’s psychiatric care bill. Polakis, known for years for his controversial statements, criticized the aide’s facial expressions, describing them as condescending. The remarks sparked a backlash from several MPs, including fellow SYRIZA member Linou, who condemned his behavior as unacceptable.