One after another, SYRIZA MPs appear ready to join the party of Alexis Tsipras when it is officially announced. At least two -plus one- MPs from Koumoundourou have emerged in the last 24 hours declaring their presence in the new venture.
Symeon Kedikoglou and Alexandros Meikópoulos publicly declared that, should Tsipras’ initiative take shape, they are willing to follow him. Andreas Panagiotopoulos initially moved in the same direction, stating he would be with Alexis Tsipras, but later backtracked.
Clearly, their decision to proceed with such action is mainly due to seeing that Sokrates Famellos does not appear willing to make moves toward Amalia -at least for now- to set developments in motion. The SYRIZA president’s reluctance to open a discussion about the party’s future, combined with the condition set by Alexis Tsipras -that any MPs following him must first resign from their positions- is causing SYRIZA officials to seek ways to react.
At the same time, the growing scenarios suggesting the prime minister is setting up early elections in early autumn play a significant role in the whole story. As many SYRIZA parliamentary group officials say, if we enter summer, they won’t have time to inform their voters about their decision to leave SYRIZA and join Tsipras’ party.
It’s characteristic that party secretary Stergios Kalpakis warned the SYRIZA president that he must take initiatives to implement the party organs’ decisions related to creating a party by Alexis Tsipras, while noting that it would be catastrophic in the next elections for both SYRIZA and Alexis Tsipras’ party to run separately.
Questions arising from SYRIZA officials’ decision to “walk” with Alexis Tsipras
The truth is, however, that the whole venture is not easy, as there are a series of questions. First, what will Sokrates Famellos negotiate? The party’s integration into the new entity? This is impossible, since Alexis Tsipras has clarified that such an issue cannot happen.
What will he himself do? Will he go to the new party and, if so, in what role?
Will those remaining in SYRIZA be able to run in elections? Which body can make such decisions? Obviously, a permanent congress must be convened to decide whether SYRIZA will suspend its electoral participation.
These and many others are some of the questions arising from SYRIZA officials’ decision to walk alongside Alexis Tsipras.
Let us recall that Alexandros Meikópoulos appeared on Action 24 television station Tuesday evening saying he would resign as MP when Alexis Tsipras proceeds with announcing his party.
Hours later, Symeon Kedikoglou announced he would submit his resignation and move to the former prime minister’s party, adding that other colleagues are thinking the same. “The mood among the majority of SYRIZA MPs is to participate in Tsipras’ venture,” he characteristically noted.
On the other hand, Andreas Panagiotopoulos, although initially declaring himself ready to resign and join Alexis Tsipras’ new political venture, emphasizing that “I will be with Tsipras, either way” -while noting his party would “either go to self-dissolution or accession”- after fierce reactions and a phone call with Sokrates Famellos, changed course. In an interview with “Sto Kokkino,” he clarified that “we have a people’s mandate, we are not appointed MPs, we have been voted for by SYRIZA members and more broadly, I cannot lower this flag.”
He also mentioned that during the last Central Committee session, SYRIZA “reaffirmed that coordinately -and with Alexis Tsipras- this pole that will substantially oppose Mitsotakis must be formed.” Referring to the possibility of separate SYRIZA and Alexis Tsipras ballots, he clarified that “this scenario is impossible,” noting that such a thing “is not to the taste or choice” of the former prime minister or “SYRIZA alone,” concluding that “progressive forces’ convergence will emerge as a necessity, we are one thing, we say one thing with Tsipras.”
Therefore, when asked to answer whether he is willing to join Tsipras’ party, he emphasized that “I am SYRIZA, I am a SYRIZA MP, I am a SYRIZA member, I operate daily at parliamentary and social levels, it would be terrible if it weren’t so.”
