Political earthquake in the main opposition party in Greece. Syriza has ousted its leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, a former banker whose election had created confusion in the formation of the radical left, also leading to the departure of a part of its militants and historical leaders. Kasselakis was ousted yesterday (Sunday 8 September) with 163 votes in favour of the motion of censure, 120 against and three abstentions.
The motion was presented by 100 members of the central committee, with a letter denouncing that “under the responsibility of the president, Syriza has transformed from a party of the radical left into a caricatured party with right-wing overtones”. Before taking the helm of the party, in crisis after the resignation of historic leader Alexis Tsipras, Kasselakis had no political experience: he has a past as a banker and naval entrepreneur in the United States. This certainly made his victory in the primaries in September last year remarkable, but at the same time it led to major disagreements within the party.
The sharp break had reached a point of no return already two months after his election, in November 2023, with Kasselakis’ decision to ask for the expulsion of three members of the ‘Umbrella’ faction, Euclid Tsakalotos, the historic Minister of Economy during the Tsipras government and the battle with Brussels over the austerity plan for the country. These were three former ministers, two of whom, Panos Skourletis and Dimitris Vitsas, had also been secretaries of the party. The third member, former Minister of Education Nikos Filis, had accused Kasselakis of behaving more like Beppe Grillo and former US President Donald Trump than like a left-wing politician.
Adding to the ideological fractures is the disastrous result in the European elections last June, where the party stopped at 14.9% of the vote, a result much lower than that of the governing party Nea Dimokratia. After the vote of no confidence, which was held in secret despite Kasselakis having asked for a roll-call vote, the now ex-leader accused the “party bureaucracy” of having acted against the will of the voters, who had chosen him in the primaries a year ago.
According to the statute, Syriza must now organize an extraordinary congress within three months to present its candidates. Kasselakis has not yet clarified whether he will participate in the challenge again. For the moment, the only one who has announced his candidacy is Pavlos Polakis, an MP who initially supported Kasselakis but then clashed with him in recent months.
The party’s political secretariat will meet tomorrow (Tuesday, September 10) to outline the roadmap for a new leadership race. Afterwards, Syriza’s central committee is expected to meet to organize an extraordinary congress that will elect new delegates and prepare the ground for internal party elections. These are expected to take place between the end of October and the beginning of January. The number of candidates remains uncertain, with Polakis only MP Nikos Farantouris having expressed interest so far. Former Stylida mayor and soap opera actor Apostolos Gletsos could also enter the fray.
