The SYRIZA Political Secretariat convened shortly after 3:00 p.m., with the party’s leadership race and its roadmap toward the next national elections at the center of the agenda.
Most of the party’s leading figures attended, including Rena Dourou, Nikos Pappas, and Pavlos Polakis.
The party’s Deputy Secretary, Anastasia Sapouna, resigned, along with Political Secretariat members:
- Angeliki Visviki
- Despoina Sinou
- Panos Lamprinidis-Stachtos
- Eleni Symeonidou
- Stamatia Tsoumea
Kostas Morfidis also resigned.
Full Resignation Statement
At a time when our country faces growing deadlocks caused by government policies, SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance is experiencing yet another cycle of internal conflict and decline, marked by unacceptable and uncomradely behavior.
While society expects us to work toward creating a progressive alternative for the next elections through the broadest possible alliance of left-wing and progressive citizens and organizations, leading figures within SYRIZA have instead chosen to systematically undermine both the party and the broader Left.
Behaviors and decisions demonstrating a complete lack of respect for SYRIZA members, for our party itself, and for the history and values of the Left are becoming increasingly common.
The Left, founded on collective action, solidarity, comradeship, and democracy, has nothing to do with public attacks, personal feuds, hostility, or inflammatory rhetoric.
The ongoing discrediting of SYRIZA, its governing bodies, and its collective decisions damages the history, contributions, and sacrifices of our political movement. No one has the right to treat that legacy as a vehicle for personal ambition.
The post-political climate of our time seeks precisely this outcome: to erase ideas and convince citizens that everyone is the same, and that politics is nothing more than endless competition for personal publicity.
We must stand firmly against this destructive mindset.
The Left exists to defend democracy, workers’ rights, the welfare state, public goods, equality before the law, and human rights.
While the Right steadily consolidates its political dominance, the progressive camp cannot afford to remain trapped in fragmentation and personal political agendas.
Those who choose to destroy rather than unite, and to divide rather than bring people together, must also accept responsibility for the consequences of their choices.
Because when the Left loses, it is not merely a political party that loses—it is society itself, which needs a strong, credible, and united progressive movement.
Society does not want more futile internal conflicts. It wants unity and hope. It wants the Left to remember why it was created and whom it represents.
Political forces seeking to represent left-wing and progressive citizens must make every possible effort to achieve a progressive government, rather than allowing another four years of inequality, injustice, and corruption.
As former party president Sokratis Famellos stated when he resigned, we do not wish to become part of a new political division.
However, we also cannot continue to operate within a party where a minority, selectively invoking the party’s statutes, seeks to overturn democratically adopted decisions and lead us through confrontational procedures toward yet another split.
We choose seriousness and dignity—the principles that have guided us throughout our years in the Left—and therefore resign from both the Political Secretariat and the Central Committee of SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance.
We will always cherish the struggles we fought alongside comrades who honored us and entrusted us with their support.
Signatories:
Political Secretariat Members
- Gkely Visviki
- Despoina Sinou
- Panos Stachtos-Lamprinidis
- Eleni Symeonidou
- Stamatia Tsoumea
Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee
- Anastasia Sapouna
Youth Wing Calls for Membership Referendum
Before submitting his resignation, Panos Lamprinidis-Stachtos, secretary of the party’s youth organization, stated:
“As the youth organization, we are calling for a referendum among SYRIZA members so that the party does not contest the elections against Tsipras.”
Leadership Transition Underway
Party headquarters on Koumoundourou Street now appears headed for a complete change of leadership ahead of the election of a new head of SYRIZA’s Parliamentary Group.
Earlier on Monday, July 13, SYRIZA MP Simeon Kedikoglou resigned from the parliamentary party, announcing that he would join Alexis Tsipras’s Greek Left Alliance (Elliniki Aristeri Symparataxi).
The resignations mark a significant escalation in the internal crisis facing SYRIZA, as disagreements over the party’s future, its leadership, and its relationship with Tsipras continue to deepen ahead of the next general election.
Ask me anything
Explore related questions
