Former SYRIZA president Stefanos Kasselakis struck a defiant tone in a late-night television interview on Thursday, critiquing his party’s central committee, and stating he would not be pushed out of intra party presidential elections.
“Candidates shall be those approved by the party congress,” said Kasselakis speaking on Antenna TV, “We will go to a presidential election no matter what.”
He went as far as to insist that he remains party president despite being ousted by the central committee in September. “Let’s say that it is true that I am a former president. Who is president today? I remain both de facto and de jure president,” said Kasselakis. “By statute it is clear that when there is a withdrawal of confidence, we go to an extraordinary convention. Of course I remain president because it is unthinkable for a party not to have managerial and administrative leadership.”
Kasselakis was removed from his position as president of the leftwing SYRIZA party after a vote of no confidence by the majority of the party’s central committee members last month. Procedurally, after this censure, the party must convene an extraordinary congress to decide on a new internal election for a SYRIZA president. In the intervening month the party has remained with care-taker leadership.
He hinted heavily that he would declare candidacy in the upcoming internal elections.
On Tuesday, in-fighting between Kasselakis and SYRIZA cadres continued. An article published by the Athens daily “Efimerida ton Syntakton” alleged that Kasselakis’ wealth declaration had suspicious gaps. The politician responded with an extra-judicial letter to SYRIZA leadership, accusing them of leaking his wealth declaration to the press. The group of 100 cadres within SYRIZA then called for Kasselakis’ expulsion from the party for threatening legal action.
Since then a meeting of the five presidential candidates was proposed and fell through.
The party will have the extraordinary central committee meeting on Saturday, where it is expected they will decide on whether Kasselakis is banned from his presidential run.
In the television interview Kasselakis said that he would not attend Saturday’s meeting, and decried the actions of the central committee. “No one has the right to prevent the base from voting. End the debate about the ‘Kasselakis party’. The base will provide the solutions. I am not going to leave SYRIZA and I will not form a new party.”
