From the very first days of his presence at the helm of Koumoundourou, the new party chairman, Socrates Famellos, has been moving towards a “reliable and large SYRIZA“, as his contacts and meetings with MPs and executives inside and outside the party’s walls have been successive in recent hours.
Among the members of parliament with whom Famelos exchanged views yesterday were: Rena Dourou, Vassilis Kokkalis and Dionysis Kalamatianos, with the latter reportedly being the frontrunner for the position of Secretary of the SYRIZA Parliamentary Group. At the same time, the immediate priorities of the new SYRIZA leadership are filling the vacancies left by the departure of the “Kasselistas” in the Parliament, as well as preparing for the budget debate, which has already begun on the seventh floor of Koumoundourou.
Apart from SYRIZA’s battle array in the Parliament, the next round of changes in the new leadership team will concern the collective bodies, in order to serve the need for a “unified voice”, as Famellos has described it during the election campaign. Besides, with the discounted independence of the MP for Fthiotida, Giannis Sarakiotis today, which he himself announced yesterday evening speaking to local networks in Lamia, Koumoundourou estimates that the cycle of departures will be coming to an end, leaving the “Kasselakis era” behind once and for all.
Apart from the rearrangement of the party forces, the new president of SYRIZA wants to expand the party’s cadre and primarily its social base, which is expected to be marked by his initiatives from now on.
Alternative government proposal
Already, Socrates Famellos met yesterday with Dionysis Tebonera, who had distanced himself from intra-party events in the previous period, in a meeting with a factional logic in order to form a “front of democracy” against the government.
According to reports, during the meeting both Mr. Famellos and Mr. Teboneras agreed to work to restart the party, “for a bigger SYRIZA and with an alternative government proposal and perspective,” sources with knowledge of the events stressed.
It should be noted that Mr. Teboneras maintains open channels of communication with both the New Left, and PASOK, having organized open events with the presence of representatives of all the above parties in the past period, while he belongs to the new generation of Koumoundourou’s cadres.
Attempts to expand SYRIZA under Socrates Famellos are not limited within Koumoundourou, as the new party president is expected to attend this afternoon the presentation of the book by former foreign minister and head of the political movement “Pratto”, Nikos Kotzias, Nikos Kotzias, on: “Marx and Diplomacy. Karl Marx: Theory and Practice for International Relations and Foreign Policy”, sending a symbolic message.
Besides, Kotzias has never cut his communication bridges with SYRIZA, and has been harshly critical of the events of the last year, starring Stefanos Kasselakis. At the same time, Kotzias’ participation in the SYRIZA government through his cooperation with Pratto also underlined its broader progressive orientation, which the new leadership of the party aims to highlight.
Motivation in the party
Apart from Socrates Famellos’ frequent contacts with political executives and personalities of the progressive area, the new party’s organisational chart is being completed day by day, while the campaign to register new members is underway, as well as the financial campaign to strengthen the party. Despite the…bleak finances, the new leadership team is working on a daily basis on plans for the survival of the party media, so that they become both viable and functional, at a crucial moment for SYRIZA.
In this context, it is not excluded that the Political Secretariat of the party will meet for the first time under Socrates Famellos at the end of the week, in order to then pass the baton to the Parliamentary Group.
Climate change
In this preparatory phase, however, the signals received by the seventh floor of Koumoundourou regarding the climate towards SYRIZA, both at the level of the party’s cadres and the party’s grassroots, are encouraging, although there is still a long way to go for visible signs of recovery to appear, according to yesterday’s Pulse poll.
Specifically, the Pulse poll shows the ruling party at 29.5% in the vote estimate and PASOK up 17%. It also gives SYRIZA 8% in the vote estimate, as well as Hellenic Solution with the KKE at 9% in third place, while the Democracy Movement is tied with the Voice of Reason at 5% for sixth and seventh place. The threshold of 3% is reached or exceeded by Plyisi Eleftherias, Niki and Mera25, while the New Left “brakes” at 2.5%.
In the same survey, the electorate appears divided towards the party of Stefanos Kasselakis, although 62% of SYRIZA voters in the 2024 European elections welcome his move. At the same time, however, 41% of ND voters view the creation of the Movement for Democracy positively, as do 43% of PASOK voters, who even appear to have a 3% leakage to the “Kasselistas”, unlike SYRIZA’s electoral base.
However, Stefanos Kasselakis filed his party’s founding declaration at the Supreme Court yesterday, formalizing his new start, although the creation of a parliamentary group does not seem to be a feasible goal for him at the moment.
Seven MPs (after Mr. Sarakiotis’ announcement) may have become independent, but both Petros Pappas and possibly Giannis Sarakiotis will remain independent MPs without hotly choosing their new party home, which does not seem to be making their parliamentary way to…Tauros, where Mr. Kasselakis’ offices are housed.
