If someone wanted to draw a conclusion – based on the figures participating in the scientific council of the Tsipras Institute – about how the former prime minister will move forward regarding the much-discussed new political entity, it would be that he wants to proceed with new faces while utilizing some technocrats from the old guard of SYRIZA.
Read: Tsipras Institute: The “first-class” members of its Scientific Council and their responsibilities
Alexis Tsipras: Choosing new faces for his fresh start
Of the 41 figures announced yesterday by Alexis Tsipras himself, only 12 were close to him during the years of SYRIZA governance and shortly thereafter. 70% of the figures announced yesterday are new scientists, technocrats, and professors who each have significant achievements to present in their respective fields.
Of course, this conclusion might be somewhat arbitrary since the former prime minister’s associates have made it clear in every possible way that this structure does not in any way constitute a precursor to a new political entity. However, it clearly shows what phase Alexis Tsipras is in and how he now views things.
Nevertheless, as emphasized in the announcement of the names, «the goal of this new period of the Institute is to develop and present proposals for modern, progressive reforms, breakthroughs and comprehensive sectoral policies that will open new prospects in public, political and scientific dialogue». In other words, these members will actually develop all the proposals that Alexis Tsipras will present when he decides to move to the next phase, without necessarily meaning that these people will be involved with Tsipras’s party.
The leadership includes Eugenia Fotoniata, former special secretary for operational program management at the Ministry of Economy, and Dora Kotsaka, PhD in Political Science. Alexis Tsipras aimed for renewal with leading scientists and figures who excel abroad.
Giorgos Chouliarakis, Dimitris Liakos, and Kostas Gavroglou were previously close associates of the former prime minister, having participated in the Tsipras government. Also with a common SYRIZA background are Fragkiskos Koutentakis (former coordinator of Parliament’s budget office), Akritas Kaidatzis (associate professor of constitutional law), Themis Moumoulidis (director – writer), and Professor Nikos Marantzidis from the University of Macedonia.
Particularly interesting is that four members of the «think tank» that Alexis Tsipras had announced before the 2023 elections participate in the Institute’s Scientific Council. Zacharoula Tsirigoti -retired lieutenant general- still belongs to SYRIZA and serves on the ethics committee, Spyros Kintzios -rector of the Agricultural University of Athens-, Triantafyllos Albanis -former rector of the University of Ioannina-, and Zorzeta Lali -former EU director-. The list also includes journalist – lawyer Antonis Papagianidis.
Tsipras’s message
In his message, Alexis Tsipras stated: «What unites us is the conviction that if we want to change our homeland for the better, we must get to know it as well as possible. To understand the problems and contradictions of our time, to study all aspects of society and its movement, and thus unfold the map of a future, not only, nor mainly, with the optimism of will, but also with the pessimism of knowledge. And such a thing is impossible without the decisive contribution of enlightened people of science».
