Rena Dourou has announced her decision to remove Nina Kasimati from the SYRIZA-PS Parliamentary Group in a letter to the party’s MPs, in which she also calls on independent MPs who were elected with SYRIZA to return to the party. She also refers to Olga Gerovasili, noting that she is no longer a member of SYRIZA’s Parliamentary Group.

Following this development, SYRIZA is now in fifth place in Parliament, below Hellenic Solution, which has 11 MPs, while the number of independent MPs has risen to 53.

The chairwoman of the Parliamentary Group also says that SYRIZA is already in talks with independent MPs and estimates that these discussions will bear fruit in the coming period, strengthening the party’s Parliamentary Group.

As regards Nina Kasimati, Rena Dourou explains that her decision is linked to the stance the MP has taken, as she puts it, over recent months. Specifically, she notes that Kasimati has been absent from party activities and the collective work of the Parliamentary Group, did not take part in the process of electing the Parliamentary Group chair, did not take on an area of parliamentary responsibility and, for months, has neither signed nor submitted parliamentary questions.

“On the basis of these facts, with respect for SYRIZA-PS voters who supported us and continue to support us, with respect for the parliamentary process and with respect for the right of each and every person to choose their stance, I decided that she should be removed from the SYRIZA-PS Parliamentary Group,” Rena Dourou says.

She describes the move as a “political and institutional decision”, arguing that it brings to an end a situation that had remained unresolved for a long period and had affected the functioning of the Parliamentary Group.

In the same letter, Rena Dourou also refers to Olga Gerovasili, noting that she is no longer a member of SYRIZA’s Parliamentary Group following her decision to leave the party on 17 July.

As she says, Ms Gerovasili had announced that she would submit her letter of resignation from the Parliamentary Group when Parliament resumed its work on 24 August, citing issues related to the functioning of Parliament’s presidium, of which she is deputy speaker.

“We expect her to send her letter of resignation by 24 August and for the institutional process to be completed with the surrender of the parliamentary seat,” the chairwoman of the Parliamentary Group says.

Rena Dourou also links the issue of the parliamentary seat to the broader appeal she is making to independent MPs who were elected with SYRIZA. She calls on them to return, provided they continue to agree with the party’s principles, values and political positions.

For those who choose a different political path, she argues that there is a “clear political and moral obligation” to honour the commitments they made to the party and their voters. She refers in particular to the Code of Conduct they had signed, which, she says, entails returning their parliamentary seat to the party.

A significant part of the letter concerns the effort to rebuild SYRIZA following the latest decision of the Central Committee, which Rena Dourou describes as the starting point for the party’s “restart” and the end of a difficult period of introversion.

As she notes, contacts are already under way with independent female and male MPs, on the basis of political and program convergences. “Our assessment is that in the immediate period ahead this process will bear fruit, strengthening our Parliamentary Group,” she says.

Rena Dourou’s letter

The latest decision of the Central Committee marks the restart of SYRIZA-PS. It marks the end of a difficult, politically unclear period of introversion and the beginning of a new course of political and organisational reconstruction.

Our organisations are being rebuilt, new and former party figures are returning, taking on responsibilities, and hundreds of comrades are declaring that they are present in a collective effort to reconnect the party with society. Our common goal is a strong, modern and credible SYRIZA-PS, with a clear political identity and a substantive role as the only force today representing the modern Renewalist, Radical Left in our country.

The restart of SYRIZA-PS-PS also concerns our parliamentary presence. In recent months, contacts have been under way with independent female and male MPs on the basis of political and program convergences. Our assessment is that in the immediate period ahead this process will bear fruit, strengthening our Parliamentary Group.

We want, however, to be absolutely clear about the principles governing this effort. For us, political and party affiliation is not the product of personal electoral calculation within the framework of some “political career”. It presupposes agreement with and adherence to clear principles, values and program positions, as well as a firm commitment to a common political goal. SYRIZA-PS’s new course of renewal needs people who believe in it and are determined to contribute collectively to its success, fighting difficult battles in a political environment in which the Right will do whatever it can, at the level of politics and behind-the-scenes politics, to retain power.

In this context, we are issuing a clear and sincere appeal to the independent male and female MPs who were elected with SYRIZA-PS and continue to believe in and support its principles, values and political positions, with their clear progressive, left-wing character. We call on them to return to their political home and contribute to the new collective effort to remove the Right from power, to turn the page with a progressive government.

We do not deny shortcomings, clumsiness and mistakes. There were disagreements, conflicts and events that hurt all of us. We know this. Faced, however, with the policies, decay and corruption of the Right and the major social challenges of our time, we have a duty to seek out what unites us. Because these things are more numerous and more important than those that divided us.

Our appeal is political, clear, sincere and open. Those who choose a different political path of course have every right to do so. We believe, however, that in this case there is also a clear political and moral obligation: to honour the commitments they undertook towards the party and, above all, towards citizens at the time of their election, as set out also in the Code of Conduct they themselves signed and which entails returning their parliamentary seat to the party.

At the same time, it is necessary to clarify the composition and functioning of our Parliamentary Group. There are two outstanding issues that cloud the cohesive character of the Parliamentary Group:

Outstanding issue 1: Ms Nina Kasimati has for several months chosen to remain absent from party activities as well as from the collective work of our Parliamentary Group. She did not take part in the process of electing the Parliamentary Group chair, did not take on an area of parliamentary responsibility, while for many months she has neither signed nor submitted Parliamentary Questions, meaning that she has not participated in parliamentary scrutiny of the right-wing government. On the basis of these facts, with respect for SYRIZA-PS voters who supported us and continue to support us, with respect for the parliamentary process and with respect for the right of each and every person to choose their stance, I decided that she should be removed from the SYRIZA-PS Parliamentary Group. This is a political and institutional decision that clarifies a situation which had remained unresolved for a long time, weakening the functioning of our Parliamentary Group during a critical period dense with political developments.

Outstanding issue 2: Ms Olga Gerovasili is no longer a member of SYRIZA-PS’s Parliamentary Group, as she herself announced on 17 July with her decision to leave the party. At the same time, she had stated that her letter of resignation from the Parliamentary Group would be submitted when Parliament resumed its work on 24 August, citing issues concerning the functioning of Parliament’s presidium, of which she is deputy speaker. We expect her to send her letter of resignation by 24 August and for the institutional process to be completed with the surrender of the parliamentary seat.

For us, however, the substantive issue is not the departures. It is SYRIZA-PS’s next day and that of the modern Renewalist, Radical Left in our country.

We are beginning this new period, ahead of the crucial elections, with a cohesive Parliamentary Group of ten male and female MPs, with unity, clear political positions bearing an unmistakable progressive, left-wing character, with well-substantiated proposals on the problems facing society, the economy and the environment. And with a shared determination to consistently serve the social majority that is calling for prospects, change and hope.

The difficulties, crises and trials we have faced have strengthened us. We do not seek to return to yesterday. We seek to build the tomorrow of the modern, Renewalist, Radical Left, on the basis of the democratic, campaigning traditions of our people, on the basis of our valuable experience in government, and on the basis of our work over all these years in Parliament and the European Parliament.

We call on all those who genuinely share our principles and values to join the common struggle. With clear rules, collective action and political credibility. With a presence in society, in workplaces, among the younger generation and in the major problems of everyday life. SYRIZA-PS is moving forward. United, renewed and determined to regain its social momentum and fulfil the historic role that falls to it. The new course has already begun — for progressive government, for society.