The day after Alexis Tsipras presented his book found SYRIZA and New Left officials even more confused and disappointed about their future, as the criticism leveled by the former prime minister leaves little room for cooperation.
Alexis Tsipras, in his own way, made it clear that in the new venture no one will start from a privileged position, even speaking of a «re-establishment» of the democratic faction from the ground up, with «self-organization initiatives».
New landscape on the Left: Tsipras’ “Ithaca” causes upheaval in SYRIZA and New Left
The truth is that many were searching for reasons why Alexis Tsipras was so dismissive toward them, given that with what he said he left no room for exceptions.
In SYRIZA there was disappointment but also irritation, with most officials being outraged. It is characteristic that Socrates Famellos responded to the former prime minister from the parliamentary podium on behalf of the party. «We made compromises without party egoism and without personal ambitions», he said among other things, responding to Tsipras’ criticism about «belated» and «hasty» attempts at unity aimed at small-party survival, about «parties enclosed in their self-satisfaction», with the only concern being «who will be first in the village».
Central Committee Secretary Stergios Kalpakis also responded to Tsipras’ barb about the «reserve», saying that anyway on the Left «we are all soldiers» and disagreed with the «lumping together», as he put it, regarding responsibility for fragmentation.
Obviously the dilemma for some officials is whether they should break completely with the former prime minister, waiting for developments, or decide they need to strengthen SYRIZA even more so it can have its own presence in the next elections. If they decide to align with Alexis Tsipras, they will have to answer the question of what happens to SYRIZA, since the former prime minister appeared to clarify in his own way that he will not cooperate with political entities, but with citizens.
Parliamentary spokesman Christos Gianoulis expressed his concerns yesterday, noting that he has previously said that «there cannot be two ballot papers from the same family in the 2027 elections» and referred decisions to an upcoming parliamentary group meeting.
Georgios Karameros seems to have made his choice, as he mentioned that politics is harsh and that Tsipras demonstrated yesterday with his speech the leadership that was missing from the space. Furthermore, he conveyed that now there is one leader, namely Tsipras: «Leader present, all other authority ceases», he said.
For her part, Efi Achtsioglou noted that the political problem Tsipras identifies is something the New Left has also identified, and that one can hardly disagree in principle with the framework he sets for the need for political change. However, she meaningfully noted that since Alexis Tsipras did not develop his plan in detail, «we will evaluate his moves politically, that is, with what programmatic priorities he positions himself on specific and collective, not individual issues».
