2024-07-06 09:00:59
The “civil war” is escalating in Koumoundourou after Stefanos Kasselakis’ post midnight, with which the current president of SYRIZA throws down the gauntlet to his predecessor, Alexis Tsipras, essentially calling on him to choose either to “come and take over” the party or to “support without games” the current leadership.
“Come and take charge and I will be a regular soldier in your cause, without undermining you for a moment. But if you don’t want it, support me to make the effort for our party, without games”, characteristically wrote St. Kasselakis in a post that appears to have been uploaded, taken down and re-posted slightly modified on the SYRIZA president’s social media.
He also wrote the phrase… “stop the subversion”. This post was up for about 3 minutes.
Then Mr. Kasselakis, after taking down the original post, came back with new ones, having removed the reference to undermining.
It was preceded by the response of Alexis Tsipras circles to the leak from Koumoundourou that the former prime minister had not responded to Mr. Kasselakis’ request for financial support for “Avgi”.
“The anguish of the party’s media workers cannot be turned into a cheap commodity for internal party consumption,” said Alexis Tsipras’ circles.
Following this, Stefanos Kasselakis asked Alexis Tsipras in his sharp post to either come forward or support him without games.
In fact, at the end of his post he meaningfully points out “I prefer to be a soldier in the battle for a better Greece than a general in a partisan civil war. Alexis, shall we go?’
The Kasselakis post:
I share the wounds of the SYRIZA world.
I have the exact same ones.
From the day I took over until today, I was left to fight the battle without receiving intra-party arrows daily for only two months (and those with exceptions).
Together with the new children of our European ballot. Together with the executives and MPs who gave their lives. And SYRIZA rose from 9% to 15%. And SYRIZA remained in the position that just before seemed unattainable: Official Opposition.
Two splits, an attempt to delegitimize the Congress, now the same again with signatures to convene bodies, the meetings of which had already been announced.
Loudness, noise, introversion, which is repulsive both to our voters and to society.
The party officials who have been in office for years know very well what I received financially.
How the daily Dawn would close in 2022 with twice the funding, but can now stay open with half as much?
Who is instrumentalizing the anguish of working people by obscuring the dramatic real picture?
I contributed by giving the maximum amount allowed by law (20,000 euros). Another 7,000 euros were collected from contributions from friends and executives.
And yet, instead of going into the hands of Avgi workers, today they went to the State in order not to lose the settlement of the debts we have for Avgi and Kokkino. This alone shows the criticality of the situation.
I did not come to my country to be consumed in daily internal party wars.
SYRIZA is the official opposition of the country and it needs a leader who will be able to carry out its function without distraction and help the country to get out of the neoliberal quagmire and right-wing decline.
Alexis, you know the respect I had for you from the first moment we met.
SYRIZA was not made to liquidate into a centrist scheme with summit agreements outside society.
SYRIZA deserves the chance to claim to govern and finally live up to the expectations of progressive citizens.
And that is why I say clearly and with a sense of historical responsibility:
Come and take charge and I will be a regimental soldier in your cause, without undermining you for a moment.
But if you don’t want it, support me to make the effort for our party, without games.
– With a consolidation that is imperative now, because the ship is falling financially on the rocks.
-With a statutory conference.
-By opening SYRIZA to society without yearbooks and two-speed members.
– With staff renewal corresponding to that of the European ballot.
-With power, authority and trust in the base of the party.
-With a SYRIZA which will not lag behind others, but will lead the effort for a great Center-Left starting from the social field.
I’m not stuck with the chair – I didn’t even get to sit down. I was running from one end of Greece to the other giving the fight.
I prefer to be a soldier in the battle for a better Greece than a general in a partisan civil war.
Alexis, shall we?