Big ‘left divorce’ reshuffles political cards in Athens

Although public anger is mounting due to skyrocketing prices in basic goods, the leftist main opposition Syriza party is not picking up electorally as their internal clashes make a credible governance alternative seem unlikely.

Last weekend, a key opposition faction decided to leave the leftist Syriza party, which was another blow to the left’s unity.

A hardline leftist fraction (the so-called ‘Umbrella”) led by former finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos and consisting of 46 members (two of them elected MPs) sent a letter confirming their departure from the party.

Read more: Internal opposition pulls out of Greek left in heated meeting

The bone of contention is the new president, Stefanos Kasselakis, who replaced former prime minister Alexis Tsipras in the party’s leadership.

Kasselakis, a 35-year-old US resident and, former executive of Goldman Sachs and businessman in the shipping sector, was attacked by the “Umbrella” immediately after being elected directly by the party voters and members.

“It made me sad; it surprised me and shows a huge deficit of democratic culture. I cannot think of another party in which similar events would have taken place. Not even a half-day grace period was granted to him”, Nikos Pappas, an influential Syriza lawmaker, told Euractiv.

Pappas also claimed the party’s leadership, but in the second round of elections, he backed Kasselakis.

The other contesters were Tsakalotos and Efi Achtsioglou, considered the front-runner before Kasselakis showed up.

Tsakalotos and his team are out of the party, while Achtsioglou’s future is unknown.

Local press reports suggest that a new party on the left may emerge.

“I think it is very likely that the ‘Umbrella’ will become a party”, Pappas said.

Contacted by Euractiv, MEP Stelios Kouloglou, who pulled out of Syriza a couple of weeks ago, said the party’s big divorce creates space for another party.

“A leftist party, further to the left than the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) that could in the future work with socialists to form a government”, Kouloglou said.

“However, the new formation can only succeed on the condition that it will have new progressive ideas and new faces”, the Greek MEP added.

Euractiv understands that the presence of some traditional leftist hardliners – who have been publicly criticising Alexis Tsipras – may pose challenges in the new formation, too.

Pasok currently ranks third in the polls, closely following Syriza, according to Euractiv’s partner Europe Elects.

However, Pasok has not capitalised on Syriza’s shrinking percentages for Pappas.

“This is indicative. Even in our worst crisis, Pasok does not pick up […] therefore it cannot be a reliable alternative”, Pappas said, adding that Greek voters will switch to Syriza, who will “build the social and political alliances that will make us a majority again”.

Syriza lost 600,000 voters in the June elections compared to 2019, but according to polls, few of them switched to Pasok.

Lately, rumours about a potential collaboration between Pasok and Syriza are mounting in Athens.

But Pappas noted that until the EU election, “our relations with Pasok will be competitive”, considering that Syriza has shown that it can attract wider forces from the left to the progressive centre.

Opening the Pandora’s Box in Brussels

Syriza is affiliated with the EU Left at the EU level, while Pasok is the official member of the EU Socialists (PES).

Syriza’s former leader, Tsipras, used to be invited as an observer to the PES meetings, causing Pasok frustration.

Asked if this would also be the case for Kasselakis, PES hinted that Tsipras was an exceptional case.

“Alexis Tsipras began to be invited to attend the PES European Council Preparation meetings when he served as prime minister of Greece, to provide him with an opportunity to discuss important issues with heads of state and government from the PES family”, PES said.

“In recognition of the commitment he showed to the unity of progressive forces, later the PES continued to extend invitations to Tsipras, on a personal basis, to attend high-level PES meetings,” the EU socialists added.

“Pasok is an important and highly valued full member party of our family and we look forward to continuing this strong cooperation,” PES concluded.

Kasselakis has clarified that Syriza will remain in the EU Left family, aiming to be the “bridge” for coordination with other progressive forces such as EU Socialists and the Greens.

A source from the European Left told Euractiv there has always been “nervousness” that Syriza would split or leave the EU left and join the EU socialists.

“In the beginning, this increased with the election of the new Syriza president, although it seems after the recent statements that Syriza is still quite committed to the left”, the source noted.

Kasselakis on the spotlight

The new Syriza leader has been in the spotlight for months, and his victory was perceived as a message to voters against the current political establishment.

In his public speeches, he has insisted that the main goal of Syriza and other progressive forces should be to take down the ruling conservative New Democracy party (EPP).

He has emphasised the rising prices and the country’s poor performance on the rule of law in light of an ongoing investigation over a wiretapping scandal.

Members of the internal opposition have strongly criticised him with harsh words such as “Trumpist” even through mainstream right-wing media, which strongly fought against Tsipras’ government.

“It is a crisis which somehow had to be resolved. Either withdraw the serious accusations launched against the President and the party or do what was done”, Pappas commented.

On the other hand, Kouloglou pointed out that Kasselakis has no political experience and lacks basic knowledge of Greece’s history and Syriza’s past.

“He has views similar to the right wing of the US Democratic party […] He acts like a CEO of a large multinational, given his job at Goldman Sachs. In a party, the balance is more delicate, especially in a crisis like Syriza is experiencing”, Kouloglou said.

The MEP noted that Kasselakis is not responsible for this crisis, however he is incapable of handling it.

“This crisis gave birth to Kasselakis because there has never been an incident where someone becomes the leader of the main opposition out of nowhere, without anyone knowing him, without even being in the country”, the Greek EU lawmaker said.

Kouloglou insisted that if he could, Kasselakis would join the EU liberal Renew party.

“But now, because there is a lot of suspicion that he is not a leftist, he has declared that he will remain in the European left. Nevertheless, after the EU elections, I’m pretty sure he’ll reconsider”, Kouloglou concluded.

Tsipras’ silence

Former Syriza leader and PM Alexis Tsipras have remained silent in the ongoing crisis.

Several members of the “Umbrella” called on him to intervene, but Tsipras kept his distance.

“Alexis Tsipras is an asset both for the party and for Greece, and those who push him to speak I think are doing both Alexis and themselves an injustice”, Pappas commented.

Similarly, Kouloglou noted that Tsipras is in a difficult position as whatever he may say will be used by either side of the ongoing conflict.

But he stressed that in the pre-election period, “Tsipras could have clarified that he did not support Kasselakis as the latter implied”.

Officially, Tsipras did not support any candidate in the internal elections.

Some estimated that Tsipras was behind Kasselakis, while others insisted that Kasselakis did what Tsipras should have done years ago with his internal enemies.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos | Euractiv.com – Edited by Alice Taylor)

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