SYRIZA MP Pavlos Polakis made his presence felt through his conspicuous absence from the informal session of the party’s Political Secretariat. The Chania MP, who has been in open conflict with Rena Dourou and Nikos Pappas throughout recent months, chose not to attend Monday evening’s meeting — deliberately avoiding any discussion about who would represent the Koumoundourou-based party at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).
Read more: SYRIZA: Polakis pushes to the extreme — Koumoundourou responds, presses for leadership election, leaves door open to Crete, and releases 6-point manifesto ahead of TIF
SYRIZA: Why Polakis chose to skip the meeting
Sources indicate that senior party figures had planned to invite Pavlos Polakis to participate in the party’s press conference as part of a collective leadership approach. However, Polakis decided he had no interest in such an arrangement, arguing that presenting SYRIZA in this format does not project the image of a party fighting to win seats in parliament. He therefore chose to stay away from the session, leaving his colleagues to decide on their own how the party would approach the Thessaloniki International Fair. Those who attended the informal Political Secretariat meeting ultimately decided that Rena Dourou and Nikos Pappas would represent the party at the TIF press conference.
Why Koumoundourou does not want elections right now — The positions of Dourou and Pappas
The atmosphere within SYRIZA is tense, as the Dourou camp believes that the Chania MP’s stance is reigniting internal problems that most members currently want to set aside. Party insiders argued that holding a leadership contest at this particular moment would create more problems than it would solve. Nikos Pappas also appears opposed to calling an internal vote, although he has been trying to maintain an equal distance from both sides of the dispute.
Polakis turns against his former allies in New Left
Notably, Pavlos Polakis also used his social media posts to attack his former comrades who are now members of New Left. Many observers believe this move was intended to torpedo any ongoing talks between the head of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group and the faction led by Gavriil Sakellaridis.
