A new round of internal party consultations is expected to continue the debate in the Political Secretariat of the Syriza Progressive Alliance, which is meeting again this afternoon to prepare the proposal for the Central Committee meeting next Saturday.
The focus has been on possible criteria, terms and conditions that could apply to the declaration of candidacies in the upcoming elections for the party’s new leadership, although the preparatory discussion on them did not result in a common framework, foreshadowing difficult negotiations even on technical issues.
Three camps
For their part, the “87” of the “Tsipras guard” put proposals on the table of the steering committee such as the introduction of the obligation a”ban” on those who have borrowed large sums of money, but also for those who maintain high debts to the narrow and wider public sector (tax authorities, social security funds, etc.)
Insisting, at the same time, that these are not “photographic regulations”, but the “self-evident” eligibility criteria that apply to every Greek citizen, the “87” stress the need to respect the Constitution and the collective decisions of the party, considering that this is a sine qua non obligation for party members, let alone for potential party leaders.
Even if, however, the participation criteria that were in force last year for SYRIZA’s presidential candidate(s) are retained, as proposed by party secretary Rania Svigou the other day, namely the presentation of 30 signatures of Central Committee members, full acceptance of the party’s statutes does not constitute a bureaucratic formulation for several of the top executives. This is because several of them appear in recent hours deeply troubled by the fact that the start of a succession race is imminent, without the deposed party chairman, Stefanos Kasselakis, having clarified his attitude towards the latest decision of the Central Committee regarding his current status.
Especially, when yesterday an attempt was made to hold a meeting of the think tanks, i.e. the think tanks of SYRIZA under Diana Voutyrakou with the suggestion by her that it would be a teleconference “with the president”, meaning Mr. Kasselakis.
The so-called “Kasselists”, however, set as a criterion for participation in the election race the submission of 50 signatures to the Central Committee, along with a clean criminal record, as at the last meeting of the Political Secretariat by Theodora Tzakri, attempting to block the candidacy of Pavlos Polakis and any entry into the race of the current SYRIZA party’s CO chairman, Nikos Pappas. The latter responded to Kokkino that the election race must be conducted “with the same terms and conditions so that no malicious person can tell us that he is entering from nowhere. My personal opinion is that the constitution should also be discussed.” “Last year we had a presidential election bereft of political debate at the grassroots. We made a mistake that should not be repeated,” Pappas concluded.
In the “third way,” SYRIZA’s presidential candidate, Pavlos Polakis, is expected to again raise the issue of speeding up the internal party procedures, insisting on the party’s quick recovery in order to exercise militant opposition, with him continuing his opposition posts on social media.
The thorns
Even within the inner-party camps, however, there are no shortage of second thoughts, as the “100” do not want the Syriza to be vaporized under the weight of the prolonged introversion, nor do they want Stefanos Kasselakis to be “victimized”, especially when prominent members of the “Tsipras Guard” denounce the deposed party chairman as a “perpetrator” of bullying incidents.
Speaking yesterday on OPEN television station, Katerina Notopoulou, the MP for Thessaloniki, Katerina Notopoulou, described Mr Kasselakis as “brazen” after his circles leaked information calling on her to appeal to the judiciary. “He may want to deny them, but he knows that what I have accused him of is true,” she continued, while “I do not talk to sources or streams or trolls or late supporters,” she observed. Notopoulou also said that she has been subjected to “political bullying, which is proofed by documents” and this is evident from the messages she says she has in her possession, concluding that “I have never criminalized political dissent, Mr. Kasselakis is hiding behind brazen attacks.”
Meanwhile, a new complaint was made yesterday by Yannis Ragousis, saying that “not only do I believe Notopoulou but I must warn that she is not the only one who suffered this. At a meeting of the Political Secretariat, a female executive cried at the fact that she was subjected to vulgar bullying as an employee for her field of action in her office. And this happened 1-2 months ago, in front and Mr. Kasselakis.”
Kasselakis countdown
Meanwhile, a line yesterday by Stefanos Kasselakis appears to have “locked” the issue of his candidacy for the SYRIZA presidency, judging by how he addressed party MPs who support him in their last conversation. Specifically, Mr. Kasselakis, speaking with them via Skype, said, “I will do everything to be worthy of your trust and that of all SYRIZA members who are anxious for the future of the party”, marking the countdown to the announcement of his candidacy for the leadership of SYRIZA PS.
Information wants this to take place at the end of the week and possibly with an intervention of Mr. Kasselakis in social media, where he is expected to present his arguments against the internal party developments, following the route of his online appearance last year in the SYRIZA’s cadre.
