In a harshly worded policy decision, the Political Secretariat of the Syriza Progressive Alliance yesterday disapproved of the former President’s digital platform, Stefanos Kasselakis, and together with his move to call for mass registration of his supporters and while mobility appears in the last hours from executives, beyond the “87”, with a view to the Congress.

“Misleading” choice of website

Amid fierce reactions, the SYRIZA’s steering body PS pointed out meaningfully that “the creation of an online platform is another unprecedented and unprecedented event, after the sending of the outgoing letter to the party’s KE and the SG”. “It is a consciously misleading choice since it uses the name of SYRIZA-PS in its domain name and inside, but it is also antagonistic to our party,” the political decision of the Political Secretariat continued, also referring to “insulting references to the allegedly 50 working members of the CE”.

“Faithful observance” of decisions

Regarding the timing of the Synod, which is scheduled for November 8-10, yesterday’s decision states that “SYRIZA-PS will proceed in a coordinated, collective manner, faithful adherence to the Constitution and the decisions of its competent bodies towards the election of a president”, implicitly sending a first signal of the implementation of the existing roadmap towards the polls, although “the intra-party dialogue, from the pre-presidential procedures to the presidential elections must be based on political discussion, the submission of political plans for the present and future of SYRIZA-PS and Greek society”, making it essential, as noted, in the wake of the incidents that occurred the day before yesterday at the Kallithea members’ organization.

Distancing themselves, however, from the statements concerning the internal party developments, five members of the steering committee yesterday, namely: Theodora Tzakri, Olympia Teligioridou, Panos Rigas, Nikos Skorinis, and Rena Dourou, although they agreed with the political part of the statement. In the case of Ms Dourou, however, yesterday she positioned herself for the first time regarding reports that she is running for President of SYRIZA PS. In her statement, “The crucial thing is to build the alternative, credible, progressive, programmatic proposal with which our party will become the driving force of the democratic, left-wing, progressive party. No one is left out of this call,” Rena Dourou said, among other things, while information is growing that the Foreign Affairs Minister of SYRIZA PS is under pressure from members and supporters to run for the leadership of the party at the upcoming Congress.

In detail, Rena Dourou’s statement:

“The crucial thing today for SYRIZA-P.S. is to stop feeding political disorder. The crucial thing is to build an alternative, credible, progressive, programmatic proposal with which our party will become the driving force of the democratic, left-wing, progressive party. Noone and no one is left out of this call.

Concerning the party’s statutory procedures, internal party democracy, and pluralism, we owe it to the citizens who have supported us, who support us, to show maturity, and responsibility and to act in unity. The work we are doing in the Parliamentary Group shows the way. I think that today this is more essential than operating in a sterile manner, refuting unsubstantiated things, such as the occasional reports about my candidacy for the position of party president.

I have never operated in terms of self-promotion, I have never operated in terms of political disorder, that will not change now.”

According to some members of SYRIZA PS, the statement of the party’s Foreign Affairs Minister was perceived as a “precursor” to the statement of the former party secretary and her constant interlocutor, Panos Rigas, who stressed that “whoever wants to submit a candidacy can submit a candidacy at the congress”, thus hypothetically extending the deadline for submitting candidacies, which expires on October 24. As Mr Rigas stressed, “anyone who wants to run for the congress can submit a nomination. The majority that is formed at the Congress decides everything,” asking that the Political Secretariat not “feed the introversion” with its announcements.

In fact, if Rena Dourou enters the election race, then her disposition does not seem to be far from “working unitedly”, as she pointed out in her statement yesterday, especially in the event that Stefanos Kasselakis does not manage to run as a candidate. In this light, and with the decision to reject the candidacy of the former President of SYRIZA PS by the Central Committee active, Mrs. Dourou could “bloodlessly inherit a large part of the electoral base of Kasselistas, if not the whole”, as a prominent member of SYRIZA PS commented to protothema.gr.

Flight wave

For his part, “Stefanos Kasselakis will exhaust all means,” Evangelos Antonaros clarified, speaking to Kontra, regarding the candidacy of the former President while his side intensifies the pressure on the rival internal party camp with the loss of the parliamentary status of the opposition. Besides, if only 4 MPs leave SYRIZA PS, this loss is enough to elevate PASOK to the position of an opposition party, when Charilaou Trikoupis yesterday widened its gap with Koumoundourou even more, as recorded by the GPO poll.

Opening, however, a window for their exit from SYRIZA PS, the “Casselists” MPs, Alexandros Avlonitis and Petros Pappas, far from rejecting such a possibility, which seems like a casus belli for the “87” side. Speaking to SKAI, “if it is ruled out, obviously I have no place in SYRIZA. I will be independent” revealed for Stefanos Kasselakis MP Kilkis, Petros Pappas, while in the same vein as the position of MP Corfu, Alexandros Avlonitis. “If he is a candidate and is not elected, all of us will stay in our party, if he is not a candidate that we consider a shocking element for a left-wing party, some of us will leave and one of them is ahead. In such an eventuality there will be departures, not to say it will take the form of a split,” Avlonitis described.

The “battle” of the square

Until then, however, the “battle of the Square” between Stefanos Kasselakis and his predecessor is unfolding with intense symbolism, given that the former Prime Minister and President of SYRIZA PS, Alexis Tsipras is expected to take a stand on the… economy at least, next Tuesday, October 22, at an event at his institute in Piraeus. A day earlier, however, on Monday 21 October, the first open event of Stephanos Kasselakis was scheduled, with his speech at Kolokotronis Square, in front of the old Parliament. Although the request was initially sent by a group of his supporters, it was followed by a new written communication with the municipality of Athens, in which Mr. Kasselakis, through his attorney, requested the granting of permission as a political event of the “President and Presidential Candidate of SYRIZA PS”. Given the… signature, Katzias Square granted the first request, as the political signature of Mr. Kasselakis has changed after the impeachment motion, and is expected to make a final decision today on whether to finally grant Kolokotronis Square for a speech on Wednesday, October 23 after a new request from the Kasselakis side, which seems to want to have the last word after Alexis Tsipras.