Greece’s Pasok socialist party is now the main opposition party in the country’s parliament after leftist group Syriza was hit Thursday with new defections.
Two Syriza deputies broke away from the party amid a months-long power struggle over the ouster of the party’s former leader, Stefanos Kasselakis.
Another four deputies had defected earlier this month, leaving the party that ruled Greece in 2015-2019 with just 29 MPs in the 300-seat parliament, dropping it to third largest, behind Pasok’s 31 MPs.
The conservative New Democracy party has the largest contingent with 155 MPs. The next national elections are nominally set for 2027.
Syriza is holding new leadership elections on Sunday. A second round if necessary has been scheduled for December 1.
The first leftist party to rule Greece, Syriza has been in turmoil since September when 36-year-old Kasselakis was removed as leader, with many cadres critical of his pro-business policies and leadership style.
The US-educated former Goldman Sachs trader, who was Greece’s first openly gay party leader, has since launched a new “popular progressive” centre-left movement whose name is to be unveiled Saturday.
Source: AFP
