After months of internal strife and ongoing chaos, SYRIZA will attempt to chart a new course this Sunday, November 24, 2024, as members elect a new party president. The election features four candidates vying to lead the leftist party out of a slow collapse: Socrates Famellos, an MP and former minister; Pavlos Polakis, an outspoken lawmaker and one-time minister; Apostolos Gletsos, a TV actor and former mayor of Stylida; and Nikolas Farantouris, an MEP.
This pivotal election comes after a period of intense factionalism and a disintegration in voter confidence– only around 9% of voters approve of SYRIZA at the moment.
The turmoil reached a new low this Thursday when SYRIZA lost its status as the official opposition in parliament. The simultaneous resignations of MPs Theodora Tzakri and Giota Poulou stripped the party of its opposition privileges, handing that role to PASOK by default.
Presidential candidate Socrates Famellos condemned the MPs’ departure as a betrayal of the voters’ will. Speaking in parliament, he said, “The withdrawal of the two MPs today from the parliamentary group of SYRIZA is a falsification and violation of the popular mandate and the decision of the Greek people to have SYRIZA as the official opposition.” Nikolas Farantouris echoed these sentiments, branding the move “hypocrisy,” while Pavlos Polakis laid blame on Stefanos Kasselakis, claiming the decision was orchestrated under his orders.
Kasselakis left the party earlier this month after months of infighting with party cadres that centered around ousting him as president, and barring him from running again. He has since announced plans to form a new party, further fracturing the left.
Syriza is a long way away from its 2015 heyday, and is trying to bat off years of poor election results and a steady stream of defections.
If no candidate secures over 50% of the vote in Sunday’s election, a runoff between the top two contenders will take place on December 1. For SYRIZA, the stakes could not be higher: a chance to stabilize the party or risk a complete descent into irrelevance.
