A new round of departures from SYRIZA began with two resignations — that of the party’s parliamentary group director and the deputy spokesperson — as well as an MP becoming independent, with Koumoundourou (SYRIZA’s headquarters) continuing to lose members.

The first to resign was SYRIZA’s deputy spokesperson, Fivos Tsiklias, who referred to “introspection,” “isolation,” “personal strategies, ambitions and procedural contortions.” He was followed by the director of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group, Giorgos Bakis, who wrote in his resignation letter about “personal strategies” and said that “we are seeing behaviours and practices that are not consistent with the fundamental values of the Left and that fall short of the principles of respect and collectivity.”

At the same time, Myrto Korovesi, who took over the parliamentary seat of the resigned MP Giorgos Karameros, was sworn in this morning in Parliament and immediately afterwards became independent from SYRIZA’s parliamentary group.

The new parliamentary group will have single-digit membership

These resignations come at a time when the number of MPs making up SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance’s parliamentary group is expected to fall into single digits, as the overwhelming majority of its MPs are expected to leave the party in the coming hours. The “great exodus” is reaching its peak today, marking the party’s transition into its next phase.

Specifically, the wave of SYRIZA-PA MP departures is expected to unfold in three ways:

• through resignations from parliamentary seats,
• through becoming independent MPs, and
• through abstaining from today’s meeting of the party’s parliamentary group.

These departures will immediately reshape the party into a small and tightly knit parliamentary force, which is estimated to include:

• Rena Dourou
• Nikos Pappas
• Pavlos Polakis
• Elena Akrita
• Giorgos Papailiou
• Christos Giannoulis
• Giannis Amanatidis
• Theofilos Xanthopoulos

Who is expected to resign

On the other hand, by Friday the remaining SYRIZA-PA MPs are expected to leave, with the “great exodus” peaking today, as sources indicate that the following MPs are expected to resign within the day:

• Charis Mamoulakis
• Kalliope Vetta
• Kostas Barkas
• Alexandros Meikopoulos

MPs Miltos Zambaras and Vassilis Kokkalis are also expected to make their final decisions today, while the party’s Central Committee meeting next weekend is further intensifying developments.

In this context, it appears possible that MPs Olga Gerovasili, Dionysis Kalamatianos, Marina Kontotoli and Popi Tsapanidou will become independent on Friday.

In particular, if Ms Tsapanidou resigns, this would open the way for former SYRIZA-PA president Stefanos Kasselakis to enter Parliament — a scenario that no one in SYRIZA appears eager to pursue.

Dourou–Polakis battle

Meanwhile, SYRIZA-PA’s parliamentary group is meeting today at 1 p.m. to elect a new secretary, with Thessaloniki MP Giannis Amanatidis being proposed for the position, while Rena Dourou also officially entered the race yesterday.

However, neither of the two leading contenders, Rena Dourou and Pavlos Polakis, appears to be reaching an agreement on a “collective leadership” model, as proposed by Nikos Pappas, who is expected to become party secretary.

Under such a scenario, leadership roles would have been distributed among the core senior figures, although this proposal does not appear likely to materialise.

Instead, both Rena Dourou and Pavlos Polakis are expected to fight the leadership battle among the few MPs who will remain in the party’s parliamentary group. Ms Dourou is reportedly maintaining the advantage, as Elena Akrita has openly backed her, while Christos Giannoulis intends to vote against Pavlos Polakis.

Speaking yesterday on Action24, Ms Dourou said: “I will not refuse the proposals that have been made by MPs for me to run for the parliamentary group. I am always at the disposal of my comrades.” Regarding the deadlock in which Sokratis Famellos found himself, she attributed it to a “misreading” and openly ruled out the possibility of personally calling Alexis Tsipras.

“PASOK believed that it was the official opposition,” she commented, referring to the multiple splits, while saying that “it was not realistic to allow it to be implied that the bad Tsipras destroyed SYRIZA.” She continued that “solid alliances are built on the basis of programmatic commitments,” referring to the possibility of cooperation with the New Left.

SYRIZA parliamentary group director resigns

Giorgos Bakis, who had served as director of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group for the past year and a half, announced his resignation on Wednesday morning, referring to “unprecedented” events following Famellos’ resignation from the party leadership, which he said “I cannot serve.”

Deputy spokesperson resigns

In the same climate, SYRIZA’s deputy spokesperson Fivos Tsiklias announced his resignation on Wednesday morning, citing “introspection” and “isolation,” along with “personal strategies, ambitions and procedural manoeuvres.”

“I cannot defend in public debate the image of the party’s and its procedures’ degradation. I cannot defend a political plan that does not respond to the needs of the many, that looks inward rather than toward society. I do not wish to become part of a new division,” Mr Tsiklias wrote.