The day after Alexis Tsipras‘ resignation as a SYRIZA MP obviously changes all the dynamics in the political scene, particularly within SYRIZA. And no one is talking about the fact that the Koumoundourou party’s parliamentary group will be left with one fewer MP since Thodoris Dritsas, who is next in line, will resign once he takes office to join the New Left, but rather about the fact that even those MPs who remain will have one foot inside their party and the other outside. It’s characteristic that MPs who feel close to the former prime minister are declaring their presence, like Giorgos Karameros, who in a post characterized the resignation as an act of transcendence and emphasized that “the message to all of us is the prospect of a journey to more beautiful seas.”
In contrast, Pavlos Polakis, who knows he’s not among the officials who will be approached, criticizes Alexis Tsipras in his post, saying that ultimately the discussion about the new party wasn’t happening behind his back while attributing responsibility to him for the 5th split. “Everyone will be judged by their actions, not their intentions,” he characteristically noted.
Why Alexis Tsipras resigned from his parliamentary position now
Alexis Tsipras reportedly chose to resign today because the 3rd parliamentary period was starting and he didn’t want to continue being a problem for his party. So, half an hour before making his social media post, he called Socrates Famellos and told him he intended to resign as he didn’t wish for the discussion around the new party to continue.
The truth is that SYRIZA’s leadership finds itself in an awkward position, as it doesn’t really know how to handle the issue. His associates say he wanted to extricate himself from the situation he was in, especially given his upcoming book where he refers critically to some of his comrades, meaning he would have had his hands tied if certain incidents were questioned and he needed to respond to them.
Obviously, from the new year onwards, Alexis Tsipras is expected to advance his plans for creating the new party. After all, what he said in his post about journeys to beautiful seas clearly shows his intentions.
Some argue that initially he won’t ask the MPs who will follow him to resign. He will do this closer to the elections or after the first elections where SYRIZA will have recorded its strength and no one will be able to accuse him of dissolving Socrates Famellos’ party.
