At the preceding Political Secretariat meeting, the “87” cadres, who have a majority in the body, decided that the Central Committee meeting should take place as normal. Their speeches made it clear that they were preparing a vote to block Kasselakis’ candidacy for the party leadership.
The “Kasselists” filed a motion to recall, which was rejected. Nikos Skorinis, Panos Rigas, Theodora Tzakri, and Olympia Teligioridou supported the postponement. Pavlos Polakis voted against the postponement of the meeting and in favor of the recommendation to the Central Committee. The Youth Representative, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos, also voted against the postponement of the Central Committee meeting tomorrow. However, a lack of communication was recorded in the Political Secretariat with Rena Dourou and Maria Kouvelis, who ultimately did not vote.

Later last night, Stefanos Kasselakis, in a last-ditch effort to reverse the negative climate for him, announced, via a post, that he was withdrawing the letter of apology he had sent to the Central Committee and the Political Secretariat of SYRIZA, in order, as he says in his post, “to have no alibi”, addressing those who, according to him, are trying to exclude him from the internal party elections of SYRIZA.

However, this move does not seem to have worked as stakeholders calling for the disqualification of Stefanos Kasselakis wonder if by withdrawing the out-of-court letter he is also withdrawing his signature on it as President of SYRIZA.

The subject of tomorrow’s meeting is not only the “criminalization” of the party but also the questioning of the decisions of the collective bodies by the former President of SYRIZA, they point out.

Post-Kasselakis

Kasselakis in his post refers to Olga Gerovassili, without naming her, and refutes her accusations that he spoke about changing the constitution, which justifies his exclusion from the elections. He said during his interview with ANT1 that “the vision for the constitution is participatory direct democracy”, which he says is not contrary to the Constitution which “provides for the possibility of popular legislative initiative, that is, the possibility for citizens to submit legislative proposals to the Parliament.”

Referring to the internal party elections, he stresses, “I ask the cadres who are fighting to exclude me from the elections for SYRIZA president to do so indeed because I don’t put sugar in my coffee. It is better than falsifying the very history, struggles, and proposals of our party in the direction of participatory-direct democracy.”

Speaking about the out-of-court letter he has sent on the occasion of the leak of his financial affairs, he stresses that “I withdraw my out-of-court protest explicitly so that there is no alibi.”

In detail the post of Stefanos Kasselakis:

As all the news sites are reporting, at today’s meeting, a member of the Political Secretariat (who believes that in our democracy I should not have a second chance) referred to this quote saying: “He spoke of a change of constitution, which is a reason for disqualifying a party from national elections for not respecting the constitution.”

1.
I quote article 73 para. 6 of the Constitution which, with the 2019 revision, provides for the possibility of popular legislative initiative, i.e. the possibility for citizens to submit legislative proposals to Parliament.
2.

Please find attached a publication with the question tabled by 33 SYRIZA-PS MPs in 2022, stating: “Three years have passed since the revision of the Constitution and the above possibility remains inactive, as an implementing law is required and there is no apparent legislative intention from the Greek government (of the New Democracy). This practice is a contempt for the Constitution, citizens and democratic institutions.”

3.
I inform you that the Justice Sector of the SYRIZA C.O. has already prepared the draft of the implementing law of article 73 par. 6 of the Constitution, which will be submitted to the Parliament immediately.

4.
I list only a few of the proposals to revise the Constitution with a direct democratic character (proposing a law by 100,000 citizens, holding local referendums) that SYRIZA had submitted as a government, but were not passed in the final phase of the constitutional revision, when the parliamentary majority was gained by ND, which consistently denies the institutional strengthening of participatory democracy in our country.

5.
I ask the cadres who are fighting to disqualify me from the elections for SYRIZA president to do so because I don’t put sugar in my coffee. It is better than falsifying the very history, struggles, and proposals of our party in the direction of participatory-direct democracy.

6.
The purpose of my statement was achieved, on the one hand, by the hasty publication of the other candidates’ backgrounds and, on the other hand, by the explicit condemnation of the leak of the October 8, 2024 AGM.
Because, as I have already stated, the primary motive of my protest was to ensure the protection of the personal data of every SYRIZA executive and member (yesterday the victim of the illegal leak was me, tomorrow someone else).
As I have also stated from the beginning, I would never take the legal route.

For these reasons, I am also expressly withdrawing my out-of-court protest, so that there is no alibi.

7.
Because a free convention will be held and free elections will be held in any case, I urge maturity, composure, and sobriety. Anger is a bad advisor. Let’s all stand up a little taller. At that height, we will meet the people of SYRIZA who are waiting patiently to democratically express their vote.”

Again tomorrow the CC decided the P.G. of SYRIZA, go for the exclusion of Kasselakis from the elections

Reminded that as protothema.gr wrote earlier, tomorrow’s day in SYRIZA Progressive Alliance is emerging as the “mother of battles”, as tomorrow’s meeting of the Central Committee will be held normally.

According to today’s recommendation of the Political Secretariat, it will reiterate the same road map of the internal party elections, namely the decided dates, as well as the need for the smoothness of the process after the candidates, while a political stance was taken regarding the out-of-court letter, which the Political Secretariat would send for consideration tomorrow to the Central Committee as “unacceptable”, without proposing a concrete solution to solve the problem, with the top executives not opening their cards, leaving the members of the steering committee to decide on the matter.

“No” to postponing the JC

A proposal was made by the “Casselists” to adjourn the Central Committee, but it was rejected. The postponement was supported by Nikos Skorinis, Panos Rigas, Theodora Tzakri and Olympia Teligioridou. Pavlos Polakis voted against the delay of the meeting and in favour of the recommendation to the Central Committee. The Youth Representative, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos, also voted against the postponement of the Central Committee meeting tomorrow. However, a lack of communication was recorded in the Political Secretariat with Rena Dourou and Maria Kouvelis, who ultimately did not vote.

“If the Central Committee is held tomorrow, it will be the beginning of the end of SYRIZA as a united form,” said Nikos Skorinis from the “Kasselistas” after the end of the proceedings, asking for a postponement of the proceedings and together to take back Stefanos Kasselakis’s letter of apology, while he announced that he will be absent from the meeting tomorrow, as well as Panos Rigas.

“Closed papers”

More specifically, the Central Committee is expected to take a position on the out-of-court complaint tomorrow, though without clarifying the framework of its response as of today. At the same time, the meeting will be held in person and not hybrid (i.e. by not using a digital platform), and no telephone votes are envisaged, as these are only allowed when a 151 majority is required and not based on those present, as is expected to happen tomorrow.

Jackri vs. Svingos and Pappa

Addressing Nikos Pappas, Rania Svingos, Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Maria Kouvelis and Giota Beloni, Theodora Tzakri said “I appeal to you to reconsider and call a meeting of the CC for the sole purpose of excluding Kasselakis from the electoral process.”

In detail, Tzakri’s statement:

This decision to hold a meeting of the Central Committee with the administrative exclusion of Stefanos Kasselakis from the elections obviously dynamizes the electoral process and leads to the dissolution of SYRIZA.

To the eight traditional extreme schismatic voices of the SG were added five more of the intermediaries, the president of the CE, Nikos Pappas, the party secretary Rania Svingos, Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Maria Kouvelis and Giota Beloni, who joined this bloc under the pretext of the out-of-court letter.

I am therefore addressing these 5 and asking them to reconsider and pick it up. In particular, I believe that the two legal ones among them cannot be advocating the curtailment of someone’s civil rights if and when they exercise a legal right, as in this case, it was to protest out of court. This is legal sophistry and before all MPs, members, and members, of SYRIZA we remain scientists.

Those of you who consider this a major issue can take the relevant political initiatives, but with the ultimate goal of appeasement, but always according to what each/everyone believes.

I appeal therefore to the prudence of people who respect their course and their posterity. I have nothing to expect from people who want to dismantle SYRIZA. They are capable of anything and of using any administrative measure to extinguish the popular will and avoid its severe judgment. There is a need for a modus vivendi between the obvious Kasselacist majority of the grassroots and the anti-Kasselacist majority of the KE.

It is noteworthy that Theodora Tzakri submitted a personal proposal not to have a Central Committee at all, while Panos Rigas and Nikos Skorinis submitted a different proposal, according to which they asked for the Central Committee to be postponed and at the same time for the five presidential candidates to sit at the same table to defuse the crisis, so as not to lead the party to liquidation, which was also supported by Olympia Teliyoridou.