It was election night and the new winner was the leader of the party. Radical Left Coalition —Syriza In Greek – went out in front of his people. It was 2015 and Alexis Tsipras He became the star of his country Greeceand in all Europe: For the first time in the old continent, a force that was completely opposed to austerity policies leading to death was gaining strength. Brussels.
“I felt justified, because the Greeks clearly showed their willingness to fight both inside and outside our country to show their strength and pride,” Tsipras began. Greece and the Greeks synonymous with resistance and dignity”.
But the years passed and it got worse; The leftist Syriza formation is another: Tsipras lost power to the conservatives in the 2019 Greek elections. Kyriakos Mitsotakisrenewing its position Prime minister This summer. Facing his second defeat Tsipras resigned from office and left politics.
This September, a surprise rose in its place: Stefanos KaselakisSyriza’s new leader is a former banker Goldman Sachs. His meteoric rise shocked the party so much that it had become involved in Greek politics eight years ago and is now completely in control. real risk of division.
“It is not known whether the split will happen, but it seems that Syriza has lost. ability to gain strength Again. This was the main reason for the party: the unifying power of the administration. But there are two more important reasons: tradition left partand the new chairman of the party and in war what his election brings,” he explains. Yannis PapageorgiuPolitical Science professor Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
new blood
His arrival was sudden: a month before Kaselakis was elected the new leader of Syriza, no one in Greece had heard of this unlikely politician, who had just moved to the Greek country after more than half his life in Greece. United States of America. Kaselakis had never been a member of any political party and was a completely new face: that’s why he won. primaries Syriza’s.
“Kaselakis’ victory was an example of this man’s plan to seize power, and this path is not about politics or politics ideological content, but personality and populism. This conflicts with old guard of the partyfrom an older, more traditional left,” says Papageorgiu.
Since his arrival at the helm of Syriza more than a month ago, Kaselakis has expelled many senior Syriza officials from the party; others resigned. “Kaselakis’ promotion process is comparable to what he did donald trump with Republican Party: is all about achieving power through people, not the party apparatus, and then take control to dominate the formation. Trump changed his party in his own way, and Kaselakis seems to want the same thing,” Papageorgiu thinks.
danger around the corner
This change has had negative consequences for now. Since the July elections, Syriza has fallen in the polls and is currently about 13% of the voteThis is a far cry from the 20 percent Tsipras achieved in his last election this summer.
New Democracy (ND) Prime Minister Mitsotakis is still standing in the middle. 37% of votesIt is no longer against ND, but as far away as a star from the main opposition party that fights against ND. PASOKThe traditional Greek centre-left formation that shared power with ND in Greece before Syriza and Tsipras respectively.
PASOK, 11% of votesAccording to surveys. “Syriza came to power at a time of tremendous crisis. protest party. Now that some semblance of normalcy has returned, it was PASOK that took back the votes of those who were dissatisfied with ND. And so Syriza falls,” says Papageorgiu and continues:
“Now here comes the big question and the big test: European elections in June 2024. “If Syriza fails, if PASOK surpasses them, it cannot be ruled out that Kaselakis will have to leave.”