The electoral battle for second party position in the European elections has intensified with SYRIZA taking the lead to PASOK. In his statement to Huffington Post Stefanos Kasselakis dismissed the possibility of progressive cooperation for now emphasising that such collaborations do not happen at the top level.
Kasselakis also went on to stress that a number of members from PASOK are center-right which is evidenced by the human resource pool from New Democracy.
SYRIZA’s party leader underlined his hope for cooperation with all those who are progressive regardless of their political labels. MP Petros Pappas backed this statement by asserting that the party aims to include all progressive individuals including those who traditionally support PASOK. Additionally, Mr. Pappas noted to Parapolitika that the effect of SYRIZA’s rejuvenation is indicative by the attacks received from political party Nea Aristera (New Left) implying that the party is ephemeral in the political arena.
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The spokesperson for SYRIZA, Voula Kexagia, launched a fiery attack against PASOK-KINAL and New Democracy expressing that Androulakis is dealing his last cards in his leadership as expressed by PASOK party members. Kexagia went on to state that in spite of everything SYRIZA has endured, Androulakis has still failed to develop a momentum that would threaten SYRIZA’s second position in the European elections. The spokesperson for SYRIZA further denounced political party Nea Aristera (New Left) accusing them of attempting to justify their departure from SYRIZA by attacking the party daily without however, presenting their own political agenda. Voula Kexagia questioned the New Left’s program, highlighting their lack of clarity regarding their political proposals.
Ongoing conflicts have intensified with heated exchanges and colorful language viewed on television. Dora Avgeri, candidate for SYRIZA in the upcoming European election suggested on Action24 that their rivals envy Kasselakis’ potential in leadership. In response, Michalis Katrinis from PASOK-KINAL criticised Kasselakis’ focus on trivial matters highlighting the need for seriousness in politics and reaffirming that New Democracy is PASOK-KINAL’s main opponent. Nikos Filis for Nea Aristera asserted that convergence is unlikely with Kasselakis. However, he stated that within SYRIZA there are members which he does appreciate, underling that with Kasselakis’ leadership these members have reached a stalemate expressing that Stefanos Kasselakis has has departed from left principles turning the party into a central populist one.
