The upcoming weekend is going to be a critical one for the future of Greece’s official opposition party.
The Greek political world will be focusing on the meeting of SYRIZA’s Central Committee which is expected to be explosive.
There are strong indications that, once the process finishes, the party’s internal opposition – which is essentially composed by the more left wing party members – will announce that it is breaking away from SYRIZA.
Ever since Stefanos Kasselakis – ideologically, is on the centre-right side of the party – won SYRIZA’s leadership, prominent party members have expressed their disagreements with their new leader’s ideas. Kasselakis – and his close party associates – broke a standard party transition, and expelled established members such as Nikos Filis and Panos Skourletis, who were vocal in their criticism against the new leadership.
Following Kasselakis’ initiative, other prominent members – who align more with the left than with the center – such as Euclid Tsakalotos and Dimitris Stathakis have foreshadowed their exit from the party. Due to their political capital within the party – which holds especially true for Tsakalotos – several of like minded party members are expected to follow. However, Efi Achtsioglou, who also, competed for SYRIZA’s leadership on a hard-left agenda, has not yet revealed her intentions.
SYRIZA seems to be facing a dead-end. On the one hand, the leftwing fraction of the party sees no future under Kasselakis’ leadership, as he has placed himself far closer to PASOK and the center-left than SYRIZA’s traditional followers. On the other hand, though, Kasselakis has not yet convinced center-left voters that SYRIZA can represent them; it is hardly a coincidence that after Kasselakis’ victory, SYRIZA started declining in polls, while PASOK began to rise.
It remains to be seen whether the departure of a left wing faction – if it occurs – will help SYRIZA. However, in the current political time, all evidence points to the contrary, as SYRIZA’s new leader seems unable to appeal to anyone but a committed and limited party base.
