Rapid developments are occurring within SYRIZA, as the party announces the return of Pavlos Polakis to its Parliamentary Group. Polakis’s reinstatement followed a recommendation by Stefanos Kasselakis and was officially communicated by Nikos Pappas in a letter to the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, Kostas Tasoulas.

Polakis had been expelled from SYRIZA’s parliamentary group in July due to his dissatisfaction with the behavior of a staff member of Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis during a parliamentary committee meeting, as well as an outburst by Athina Linou.

His return comes just days before the party’s Central Committee meeting, with Polakis having publicly expressed his doubts about Stefanos Kasselakis and his intention to remain actively involved in future developments.

The Timeline of the Expulsion

Pavlos Polakis was expelled following an incident that occurred on July 25, 2024, during a session of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs, while a discussion on the Ministry of Health’s bill was underway.

During the session, SYRIZA MP Pavlos Polakis launched an unprovoked verbal attack against a colleague of Adonis Georgiadis, using derogatory language.

Specifically, the Chania MP addressed the minister’s colleague by saying: “Don’t twist your face, madam. I’m telling you, you have a permanent, not a smile, but a twisting of the mouth in a manner of disdain. It’s irritating. You have a female colleague of the minister who has a permanent facial twist of disdain. It’s irritating to watch.”

Those present in the room defended Mr. Georgiadis’ colleague—Mr. Vartzopoulos even shouted that the woman had a health issue. However, the most notable reaction came from SYRIZA MP Athina Linou, who was so shocked by her colleague’s attack that she broke down in tears, as did Mr. Georgiadis’ colleague. Ms. Linou stated, “I want to personally apologise to the colleague who suffered this form of violence, and I think we cannot allow such behavior, regardless of who it comes from, towards any woman or any person.”

At that time, SYRIZA MPs who learned about the incident just before the start of the Parliamentary Group session could not hide their displeasure at once again being “on the defensive,” as they commented, due to Pavlos Polakis’ behavior. The incident was reported to Stefanos Kasselakis, who requested to see the relevant videos.