The publication of the Tsipras Institute manifesto has, as expected, sparked extensive discussions in the political sphere, with several left-wing figures publicly aligning with the former prime minister’s views, while others appeared cautious and critical.
In reality, however, this process gave citizens the impression that matters related to the announcement of the new party are moving faster, and therefore those directly interested will need to see how they will handle the issue. It is characteristic that SYRIZA Secretary Stergios Kalpakis – the first to react positively to the Tsipras manifesto – argued that “there should not be separate SYRIZA ballot papers and separate Tsipras party ballot papers in the next elections. We should all be together in one space. Since SYRIZA for over a year now, and Socrates Famellos specifically, has said that we want a large space, a unified ballot, I believe we must make the appropriate decisions in this direction.” And, concluding, he emphasized: “I believe the ball is now in Socrates Famellos’ court.”
The truth is that the SYRIZA Secretary touched on the essence of the issue, which is none other than how the SYRIZA president will handle the entire matter so that the outcome is favorable for all sides.
The undertaking is obviously difficult and complex. The revelation of the phone call between Socrates Famellos and Alexis Tsipras by parapolitika.gr pushes things considerably further down, since the goal of both sides is for any potential meeting to take place away from the spotlight of publicity.
Pressure on Famellos – How SYRIZA’s autonomous election run can be prevented
Information suggests, however, that many Koumoundourou figures such as party Secretary Stergios Kalpakis, Kostas Zachariadis, Thanasis Theocharopoulos and others are pressuring Socrates Famellos to take initiatives to stop the individual approaches from Amalias avenue where Alexis Tsipras’ headquarters is housed, and to prevent SYRIZA’s autonomous run in the elections. Of course, the issue is that the SYRIZA president cannot do anything for now, since Alexis Tsipras has not announced the creation of a party entity. It would be nothing if not paradoxical to try to accelerate developments while the former prime minister has not given the green light.
As it appears, therefore, everyone is waiting for the announcement of the new entity by Alexis Tsipras in order to implement the last Central Committee’s decision for cooperation with the former prime minister. On the question of whether SYRIZA should run in the next elections, opinions differ. Some believe that the autonomous run of the Koumoundourou party in the next elections will deprive Tsipras’ party of about 3%, something that could cost the former prime minister second place. Some other figures say, however, that SYRIZA’s autonomous election run is not necessarily bad since it will show that Alexis Tsipras has no connection to the past. At the same time, in the second round where there will be great polarization, these voters could align with the new political entity.
The goal of Amalias avenue, however, is for Alexis Tsipras to initially appear having new figures beside him, new faces that will not remind anyone of the past. After this image passes to society for a sufficient period, then he will turn to his former comrades. Of course, these scenarios could be overturned if Kyriakos Mitsotakis decides completely surprisingly to go to early elections. In this case, everything will happen quickly and everything differently. Meanwhile, Pavlos Polakis, who obviously will not align with the Tsipras party, is waiting in the… corner. It is characteristic that he was the first to criticize the former prime minister’s Institute manifesto with the logic that the text’s observations have been said before. It is considered almost certain that he will attempt to claim party leadership unless Kostas Arvanitis emerges from his left.
