New SYRIZA leader presents restart plan to former PM

Sokratis Famellos, the recently elected new leader of the leftist SYRIZA party, which recently lost its status as the main opposition following a wave of defections, presented a party restart plan to former leader Alexis Tsipras, at the latter’s office in central Athens on Thursday.

It was the first meeting between the two political figures since Famellos’ victory in party elections last Sunday.

Tsipras, who served as prime minister from 2015 to 2019 after leading SYRIZA along a meteoric rise during the country’s debt crisis in the previous decade, emphasized his commitment to supporting “every effort by the party to position itself as a driving force in shaping future developments”, SYRIZA announced.

Tsipras has refrained from directly addressing recent developments at SYRIZA. The party has been hit by a string of defections and the emergence of new splinter parties that have shrunk its political presence, making socialist SYRIZA the main opposition.

SYRIZA, in its announcement following the meeting between Famellos and Tsipras, noted it will move ahead “to meet the needs of the people and serve as a true opposition, standing firm against efforts to devalue and dismantle it,” a reference to latest party defections headed for Movement for Democracy, a new party unveiled just days ago by former SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis.

He quit SYRIZA earlier this month after the party’s congress made it clear it would refuse to consider his candidacy for the leadership election.

SYRIZA is now down to 28 MPs seats in the 300-seat Parliament from 47 after the June 2023 Greek election.