Major tension prevails within Stefanos Kasselakis‘ party just five days before the Democracy Movement congress. Party members are leaving, officials are being expelled by the president himself, and online trolls are threatening those who plan to disagree with the KIDI leader’s views. He is reportedly preparing to abolish the elected bodies. According to those who have left, the direct democracy that was Stefanos Kasselakis’ main narrative has been thrown in the trash, and it now appears it will be replaced by the logic of “I alone decide and command.”
As Democracy Movement officials say, the man who spoke about the “bouzouki club congress” when referring to SYRIZA’s congress now appears to be attempting to stage the most controversial congress in recent years. This is because many interpret the changes to the party’s constitution as changes aimed solely at the absolute dominance and hegemony of the party president, so that no one can control him when cooperation time comes. All this while an MP who played a significant role in SYRIZA’s split is preparing to leave KIDI.
Oikonomou’s expulsion by Kasselakis and intense clashes with Apostolakis, Antonaros, Moraitis
Yesterday, the Democracy Movement president expelled his former close associate, Thanasis Oikonomou, the man who together with other top officials fought at the November 2024 congress to prevail in the party. Thanasis Oikonomou publicly expressed some concerns and this cost him his expulsion from the party. “Following recent public statements on social media, I remind that the public discourse of members must reflect our principles and values. As President and guarantor of party and member unity, I have the obligation to decide on the temporary suspension of Mr. Thanasis Oikonomou’s membership, based on articles 13, 14, 16 and 20 of the Code of Ethics, until the convening of the new EDDIAP, before which the case will be examined with full guarantee of the right to a hearing,” wrote Stefanos Kasselakis.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, many refer to his intense clashes with Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, as well as with other officials like Vangelis Antonaros and Nikos Moraitis, who believed in and supported him. At the same time, the fanaticism of trolls supporting Stefanos Kasselakis against Democracy Movement officials who disagree with the President’s decisions has reached a peak. The troll Ben Dalaoura directly threatens congress delegates. “We know you one by one and we’re waiting for you,” he wrote in a post on X, in an unprecedented move. Those who remain are asking the president and MPs to intervene, condemn the trolls and commit to the unimpeded participation of all members in the congress.
