Leader of main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, Stefanos Kasselakis, announced on Friday a “referendum” in which grassroot members will decide whether four party members should be ousted from the party.
In his post on social media, he addressed the “Greek people” and the “large majority in the country who want an alternative solution to the Mitsotakis-Voridis-Velopoulos* government.”
He stressed that he “will not back down” in the face of internal opposition within SYRIZA and announced a “referendum” to oust from the party historical members (Filis, Skourletis, Voutsis and ex PASOK Tzoumakas) who have criticized him on multiple ways.
He said further that he will “ask the Central Committee to decide on the holding of a referendum directly by the members and friends of the party for the removal of the four party members who brutally insulted all of us.”
“If the Central Committee refuses, I will proceed with a referendum at the request of 15% of SYRIZA members, exactly as our statutes provide,” he concluded:
Δε θα κάνω πίσω.
Η λειτουργία ενός κόμματος, πόσω μάλλον της Αξιωματικής Αντιπολίτευσης, αποτελεί πολύ σοβαρό ζήτημα για να γίνεται θέμα αναβολών και σκόπιμων ή μη καθυστερήσεων.Γι’ αυτόν τον λόγο αύριο θα ζητήσω από την Κεντρική Επιτροπή να αποφασίσει τη διεξαγωγή… pic.twitter.com/jbiOwiTX2M
— Stefanos Kasselakis – Στέφανος Κασσελάκης (@skasselakis) November 10, 2023
Kasselakis’ inittiative for a referendum has triggered an outrage not only among his opponents within the party but also among his own, royal supporters like Nikos Pappas.
Leaks to media claim that even former PM and ex SYRIZA leader, Alexis Tsipras, who supported his candidacy, got angry at him.
According to media repots, on Friday evening, members of the SYRIZA Central Committee are currently also considering a “non-confident vote” against Kasselakis.
“Such a vote is not of my concern,” the leader of SYRIZA reportedly commented.
Expat Stefanos Kasselakis was elected as leader in a direct vote by the membership in October. The apolitik 36-year-0ld landed in the historical left-wing Greek party like a comet form outer space.
Since then he has being going around in a trumpian-style of a self-proclaimed “ruler by God’s will,”, a “Messiah” or whatever he believes he is.
After the first signs of Kasselakis’ authoritarian behavior, many SYRIZA supporters placed their bet that he will be back to USA by February 2024. Others speculate that he came out of the blue just to destroy the already damages SYRIZA.
Fact is that he may won’t even timely to go so far to a referendum as Skourletis and Voutsis announced on Friday morning that they leave the party and SYRIZA won;t be the same by upcoming Monday. Their intention to leave the party been declared by the fraction “Umbrella” led by ex finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos.
Some 1,300 member signed and published a letter on Thursday in which they call Kasselakis “a fraud.”
*PM Mitsotakis is leader of ruling New Democracy, Voridis is one of his ministers, while Velopoulos is leader of opposition party Greek Solution…
I may suspect what Kasselakis wanted to say but he didn’t for he has little knowledge of Greek politics and doesn’t learn “quick enough” as he promised after his election and the first criticism.