With sharp remarks directed at Pavlos Polakis and those who publicly challenge the party’s collective decisions, SYRIZA-PS leader Sokratis Famellos set the tone of his address at the Parliamentary Group meeting. Famellos made clear that he will not allow the resurgence of internal party dilemmas and conflicts that, as he noted, have cost the party dearly in the past, stressing that the decisions of the recent Central Committee are binding and must be implemented without deviation.
In this context, he accused the former SYRIZA MP of attempting to provoke a new wave of internal divisions by calling on party officials and lawmakers to pick sides — despite the fact that the party has already made collective decisions about its political course. He also called on party members to focus on political action and strengthening SYRIZA’s parliamentary presence, with the aim of building a credible progressive alternative to the New Democracy government.
“What is needed today is continuity and the strengthening of political action and the work of the Parliamentary Group — with respect for the popular will, the role of Parliament, and the potential for both opposition and programmatic initiatives. And without overshadowing our image by contributing unnecessary internal divisions,” he stated.
In his address, the SYRIZA-PS leader also launched a fierce attack on Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the Constitutional Revision process, accusing the government of seeking to craft a “constitution tailored to the right wing,” while reiterating the need to form a broader progressive front that would lead to New Democracy’s electoral defeat and the creation of a progressive government.
Famellos’ key messages on SYRIZA, constitutional revision, and progressive alliances
Key points from the address by SYRIZA-PS leader Sokratis Famellos at the Parliamentary Group meeting:
Mitsotakis’ strategy on Constitutional Revision is crystal clear. He is attempting to shift the agenda, revise the Constitution with conservative, anti-people provisions, legitimize the government’s many violations, and tailor a constitution to fit the right wing.
The timeline for completing the process by July 15 is unacceptable, given that this proposal could have been submitted through proper institutional channels a year and a half ago.
The appointment of Voridis is unacceptable. He should be under scrutiny for the major OPEKEPE scandal.
There is no trust whatsoever in a government weighed down by numerous instances of constitutional violations. Serious responsibility also lies with part of the judicial leadership for the erosion of the rule of law.
Mr. Mitsotakis has no right to ask for consensus.
Having already violated Article 16 in practice, they are now pursuing the final blow to public higher education.
They have the audacity to talk about revising Article 86 — the very people who weaponized Article 86 to shield their ministers from accountability. And now, with their proposal, they are once again leaving the final say on whether to prosecute ministers in the hands of the parliamentary majority.
They have targeted civil servants. They are cultivating a climate of social conformity in order to push through layoffs and the privatization of public services, and to establish a right-wing partisan state. They want frightened civil servants, and through mass dismissals, they aim to open the door to political patronage and the entrenchment of a culture where merit is irrelevant.
By introducing a fiscal brake mechanism, they are attempting to enshrine austerity in the Constitution.
The threshold of 180 votes must not be reached. Any changes require a progressive government that can secure genuine and meaningful consensus — but first and foremost, the most basic requirement: that the Constitution actually be upheld.
SYRIZA-PS opened this debate early and has fully developed proposals:
On Article 86, on judicial independence and reforming the selection process for judicial leadership, on safeguarding Independent Authorities, on protecting public goods, the family, motherhood, children, vulnerable groups, a dignified standard of living, the National Health System, public housing policy, the protection of collective labor agreements, workers’ rights, local government, and the strengthening of direct democracy.
It is the duty of SYRIZA-PS and all progressive forces to stop Mitsotakis’ plan, which is being pursued at the expense of society’s interests.
At the Central Committee, we made an important and clear decision on how we will contribute to unity and to the prospect of a progressive way forward.
Our decision responds to a society that is asking us to stand together and contribute to the fall of this right-wing regime and to the formation of a progressive government.
We proposed the reconstitution of the progressive space a year and a half ago. Now we must not remain bystanders.
At the Central Committee, we decided to work toward strengthening and broadening the progressive proposal, recognizing the social impact of the founding of ELAS and supporting Alexis Tsipras’ initiative. We did not decide on the dissolution or the suspension of SYRIZA-PS.
We are working toward broad convergence and the electoral defeat of Mitsotakis, recognizing ELAS’ decisive role. This is also the path of continuity for SYRIZA-PS’ legacy.
The Central Committee’s decision translated the popular will into a concrete political proposal.
I am doing everything in my power to promote unity, and I will continue to do so. This is what I have been committed to since my election. And now I call on all of you to work toward this goal.
I am optimistic, because this is also what SYRIZA-PS supporters, voters, and society at large want. We owe it to them to listen.
For many months now, I have been saying that SYRIZA-PS must contest the elections as part of a broad, unifying, and progressive electoral list that will fight to overturn the right-wing government.
The Central Committee, with a significant majority, approved the Political Secretariat’s proposal — which was also my own proposal — and rejected amendments that would have obscured our clear and forward-looking decision.
The decision is a bold one, and I call on all of you to support it in practice. I will not accept a return to the debate that was taking place before the Central Committee meeting.
The amendments to remove the word “support,” to prepare separate electoral lists, to create a Plan B, and so on, were clearly and democratically rejected. So we are now moving forward with the implementation of the decision.
Public challenges to the collective decision, just days after the Central Committee voted, are an insult to party members and only add to internal divisions and political attrition — and they offer no answer to society’s question of how the right-wing regime will be brought down.
I will not allow a former member of the Parliamentary Group — who has insulted the way we function through his public statements and was expelled from the Parliamentary Group for that reason — to issue blackmail ultimatums today, provoking further crisis by calling on MPs and party officials to choose which side they’re on, when we have already collectively decided our position. We have paid a very heavy price for similar mistakes in the past.
What is needed today is continuity and the strengthening of political action and the work of the Parliamentary Group — with respect for the popular will, the role of Parliament, and the potential for both opposition and programmatic initiatives. And without overshadowing our image by contributing unnecessary internal divisions.
