SYRIZA president Sokratis Famellos today clarified his position regarding speculation about the formation of a new party by former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during a press conference at the 89th Thessaloniki International Fair. With evident commitment to protecting party unity and the broader progressive space, Famellos emphasized that “all these scenarios seem unthinkable to me” and added that “we are not opening any discussion about fragmentation”. The SYRIZA president characterized the former Prime Minister “as a member of SYRIZA’s Parliamentary Group, as valuable capital, as a precious contribution to Greece and Europe”. He also stressed that “today Greek society needs concrete answers and solutions” and that what is required is “a discussion of initiatives, so that there can be a unifying response against Mr. Mitsotakis”.
Famellos on priorities and political developments
Famellos noted that “political developments are intense” and action is urgent, adding that Tsipras’s interventions move “within the same framework as all our deliberations and are in the same direction” as SYRIZA. Without ignoring the journalistic community’s interest in Tsipras, the SYRIZA president pointed out that “the priority today is to have a common progressive proposal against Mr. Mitsotakis” and clarified that “there is no such issue for discussion” regarding changing or removing references to SYRIZA.
Famellos emphasized that “my compass is the compass of SYRIZA and Greek society”, reiterating that “Alexis Tsipras is valuable capital and necessary both as a contribution and as political capital to Progressive Greece” and that “there is no room for fragmentation”.
Immediate action and parliamentary cooperation
Regarding the timeline for forming a progressive political proposal, he emphasized that “society cannot wait” and reiterated that SYRIZA has a complete plan for Progressive Greece. Concerning PASOK and New Left, the SYRIZA president noted that the cooperation proposal remains open and that “we are willing to make concessions”, aiming to develop common programmatic content and parliamentary cooperation measures.
Famellos highlighted that “the priority today is not any search or reflection, but social action for Progressive Greece“, reminding that society demands progressive government change and that SYRIZA’s political goal is a progressive government as soon as possible.
Finally, he announced that progressive dialogue after the Thessaloniki International Fair must acquire specific programmatic content, condemning the government for the 6.5 billion euro surplus and declaring that “it wasn’t excellence, it was theft”.
