Stefanos Kasselakis, who was ousted in September by the once-powerful SYRIZA party, announced he was running anew for the leadership in a video posted on social media on Thursday.
“I am Stefanos. Plain. We were born human, not office-holders. I apologize. From you, whom we disappointed,” Kasselakis said in the video.
“Let us go create a SYRIZA that does not turn us away, but has space for all of us. With a new unity at base level, in society, in real life. Our SYRIZA will turn all power over to its members and friends. Our SYRIZA will not beg to become a part of vested interests,” he added.
SYRIZA, who governed Greece from 2015 to 2019, has been facing trouble and seems to be nearing collapse, with party MPs vehemently divided over Kasselakis.
The party leader had been taking fire from many members of the SYRIZA central committee for his autocratic behavior, and he was accused of treating the leftist party as his own property.
Kasselakis: SYRIZA must be reborn
Kasselakis said that the party will either be reborn or pass into history as a memory. “The old one has strong roots. The new one may be slow to come, may meet obstacles, may fall down, but it gets up again,” he underlined.
As the former party leader revealed, “Personally, I do not feel betrayed, but more determined than ever not to ever betray you. I am here because you are here,” he said.
Kasselakis told voters “Your support is more needed than ever. I do not have a party mechanism. I only had and have you. So do not wait for the day of election for president,” and urged them to sign up at SYRIZA before October 11 so they may vote for representatives at the party congress.
A recent MRB poll shows SYRIZA dropping to fifth place ahead of the upcoming leadership election at PASOK, which is firmly in second place.
Garnering only 7.5 percent of the vote, the once-mighty SYRIZA appears to be experiencing a notable decline as it also heads to a leadership election.
A year of turmoil in SYRIZA after Kasselakis’s win
It was August 2023 when most Greeks returned from summer vacation to find a man who came out of the blue—actually from the US—to claim the SYRIZA presidency. Less than a little over a month prior to this, Alexis Tsipras had resigned from the leftist party leadership, and several candidates were waiting to claim his seat.
Kasselakis looked like the most unlikely person to qualify. He was coming from a wealthy family with businesses in the US, had worked for Goldman Sachs, and had no experience whatsoever with politics, much less with the Greek Left.
Yet, his air of confidence, approach to the common people, and his slogan “I am the only one who can beat Mitsotakis” jelled with many SYRIZA voters. His visits to schools, hospitals, and impoverished neighborhoods, and his friendly talks with random people he met on the street made him a popular figure in the media.
After all, leftist voters had seen the charismatic Alexis Tsipras lose three elections in a row to Mitsotakis—two parliamentary elections and one municipal. It was time to try someone new, someone with such a friendly approach that had very little to do with the typical Greek politician.
In the grassroots election for the SYRIZA presidency in September 2023, the rookie politician won the seat relatively easily from opponent Efi Achtsioglou, former Minister for Labor, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity in the Tsipras administration.
However, instead of staying with the party and following Kasselakis and his (vague) program, the losing SYRIZA faction accused him of not having the proper credentials to lead.
