Stefanos Kasselakis has appointed Nikos Pappas as the head of SYRIZA’s Parliamentary Group, aiming to influence the internal dynamics of the party’s Central Committee. This move comes as Pavlos Polakis has announced his intention to table a motion of no-confidence, potentially triggering a process for electing a new party leader.

Additionally, there have been significant changes in the leadership of SYRIZA’s Parliamentary Group. The new parliamentary representatives are:

• Giannis Sarakiotis
• Nina Kasimati
• Giorgos Gavrilos

They replace:

• Nikos Pappas
• Theofilos Xanthopoulos
• Dionysis Kalamatiannis

Deputy Parliamentary Representative: Vasilis Kokkalis

Coordinator of the Policy Committee (EPEKE): Giota Poulou

Deputy Coordinator of the Policy Committee (EPEKE): Rallia Christidou

The Disagreement

It should be noted that Socrates Famellos had openly disagreed with the President of SYRIZA PS, Stefanos Kasselakis, during the session of the Central Committee last July, when the issue of postponing the October Congress was raised.

Additionally, Socrates Famellos’s name was prominently mentioned as a potential candidate for the leadership position in the event of a challenge to the current President following a vote of no confidence.

The Background with Popi Tsapanidou

It is worth mentioning that today, after 11:30 a.m., well-known journalist and former SYRIZA PS spokesperson, Popi Tsapanidou, entered the Koumoundouros building to meet with the Director of the President of the party, Manolis Kapnisakis.

The meeting was reportedly scheduled yesterday, when Koumoundourou invited Ms. Tsapanidou for a private meeting to clarify her position regarding the vacant parliamentary seat following Othonas Iliopoulos’s resignation from the head of the party’s national list.

Ms. Tsapanidou is said to have responded to Koumoundourou officials that shortly before their meeting, she had been approached by the Presidency of the Parliament to address the possibility of filling the vacant seat and had already responded positively.

It is noted that circles of the parliamentary presidency had emphasized that the former SYRIZA spokesperson was the first alternate and needed to clarify her intentions regarding the parliamentary seat by tomorrow, August 28, with the resumption of parliamentary activities. However, the Parliamentary Presidency reportedly sought Ms. Tsapanidou today, and she is expected to take the oath as a member of the national list this coming Friday.

As she stated shortly after in a social media post: “I was just officially invited by the Parliamentary Presidency, according to the Constitution, the electoral process, and the parliamentary rules, to fill the vacant seat as the first alternate on SYRIZA PS’s national list. Considering that the national list of SYRIZA has been validated by the Greek people in two successive electoral contests, I accept the highest responsibility to comply with the Constitution and the popular mandate.”

The Parliamentary Group Meeting

The president of SYRIZA is attempting to regain initiative within the party, as Koumoundourou has been moving to the “rhythm of Pavlos Polakis” since last Thursday, when the now-independent MP for Chania openly challenged the leadership of the main opposition party.

The focus of Stefanos Kasselakis’s initiatives against the open challenge from his former ardent supporter, Pavlos Polakis, is expected to be today’s emergency meeting of the party’s Parliamentary Group. Although the party spokesperson, Voula Kechagi, conducted the usual briefing for political reporters yesterday, there was no mention of this meeting. Later yesterday, it became known that the Parliamentary Group would meet at 6 p.m. today, with Koumoundouros trying to make an initial surprise move.

Although SYRIZA officials conveyed that this was the first meeting of the Parliamentary Group also due to the resumption of parliamentary activities, the internal atmosphere remains highly charged. This is particularly true considering that in their last meeting before the summer break, SYRIZA MPs witnessed in detail the expulsion of Pavlos Polakis, with whom Koumoundourou seems unwilling to completely sever ties.

On the contrary, Koumoundourou aims to give Polakis’s stance a purely political dimension, with spokesperson Voula Kechagi commenting yesterday that “Mr. Polakis speaks politically and we call on all party members who care about the future of SYRIZA and its being a credible main opposition that will eventually seek to govern the country to speak openly and tell their truths.”

A Surprising Move

At the same time, it is highly likely that the President of SYRIZA PS will meet in the coming days with both Pavlos Polakis and Athena Linou, with much depending on today’s Parliamentary Group meeting, in which Mr. Kasselakis is expected to intervene from afar, either online or through other means.

“Moral Instigator” of the Trolls

Meanwhile, yesterday saw a peak in internal party reactions regarding the mass attacks faced online by SYRIZA PS MP for Thessaloniki, Katerina Notopoulou, from anonymous troll accounts. Among the abusive comments she received, there were many with pointed references to her manner of speaking, which is, however, a result of her hearing impairment.

As the digital conflict between the “Kasselakis” and “87” factions rages on social networks, the President of SYRIZA PS remarked that “I condemn any form of bullying, whether online or in person, on television or in Parliament, at the stadium or at home. It is unacceptable for our fellow citizens to be targeted for their disability, their physical appearance, their orientation, their origin, and so on,” without specifically naming Ms. Notopoulou.

Μετά από μια προγραμματισμένη Πολιτική Γραμματεία, στην οποία παρουσιάστηκαν αναλυτικά οικονομικά στοιχεία και σχέδιο εξορθολογισμού από την διοίκηση των κομματικών ΜΜΕ, ο δημόσιος διάλογος για τον ΣΥΡΙΖΑ έχει γίνει νοσηρός.

Προφανώς πρέπει να αλλάξουν πάρα πολλά στο κόμμα. Και…

— Stefanos Kasselakis – Στέφανος Κασσελάκης (@skasselakis) August 26, 2024