Within SYRIZA, party officials appear to be rather amused by the obsession PASOK is showing over the Siakadarid affair, in what seems to be an attempt to convince Greek voters that Alexis Tsipras is the one who might potentially collaborate with New Democracy — and not PASOK.
Why SYRIZA sees PASOK’s fixation on the Siakadarid affair as an “obsession”
It is telling that, even yesterday, Harilaou Trikoupi Street — PASOK’s headquarters — continued to insist that “on July 19, SYRIZA’s press office sent journalists the composition of the National Council. In position 322, Mr. Siakadarid’s name was listed. Why didn’t they deny his participation at that point? Mr. Hatzigianakis, the name of the author of your founding declaration was removed from your website after the fact…”
PASOK appears to be persistently trying to prove that Giorgos Siakadarid not only knew exactly what he was saying in his post about potential coalition arrangements — prompted by the resurgence of far-right parties — but that he was actually expressing the official line of Tsipras’s party. PASOK is even refusing to acknowledge what Alexis Tsipras himself said on the matter at the Thessaloniki International Fair, where he pointed out that Giorgos Siakadarid “participates in the Institute but is not a party official. His personal views do not represent the party.” Tsipras added characteristically: “Every time he expresses an opinion — and good for him — you shouldn’t bother him asking whether he got Tsipras’s permission to express it. Nor should you ask us whether we agree or disagree with each of his personal views.”
Doudonis and Tsoukalas escalate tensions over Siakadarid
The first to raise the issue was PASOK’s national list MP Panagiotis Doudonis, who labeled Giorgos Siakadarid an “instructor” pulling strings behind the scenes. He was soon followed by PASOK’s spokesperson Kostas Tsoukalas, who pursued the same line of attack.
At SYRIZA headquarters on Amalias Avenue, party officials maintain that PASOK wants to keep this story alive in the news cycle because voters widely regard PASOK as New Democracy’s most likely coalition partner should the ruling party fall short of an outright majority. In this context, PASOK is seeking to exploit Siakadarid’s post at every opportunity, pushing the narrative that Alexis Tsipras could potentially end up in the same government as Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Tsipras’s associates, however, say it is nothing short of laughable for PASOK to try to link Alexis Tsipras with the prime minister — and that doing so only reveals their desperation.
