The name “ELAS” for the new party thatAlexis Tsipras unveiled last night from Thiseio has already gone… viral and the question that remains to be answered concerns the political stance it will take. According to communications experts, “ELAS” is a name that “sticks” with the public and will likely help garner positive sentimentin the first polls.
Politically, it is certain that the acronym “ELAS” will provoke (ed. note: is already provoking) interpretationsfrom the right-wingregarding a return …to the days of the civil war, and, conversely, infuriatesthe KKE, which believes it plunders the history of the EAM army.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tsipras’s characteristic gesture of raising the text of the founding Declaration high in the air provoked anger within PASOK, as they view it as “stolen” fromAndreas Papandreou’siconic gesturein1974.
Furthermore,the word “left” in thename (“Greek Left Alliance”) is seen as deliveringthe coup de grâce to SYRIZA, as the new party presents itself as the voice of the Left and, therefore, leaves no room for the once-ruling party, which is already experiencing moments of disintegration.
Mr. Tsipras himself (who is reportedly… the godfather of his party) directly described the broader spectrum he represents yesterday: “We carry the legacy of the great currents of the progressive movement: the EAM of theNational Resistance, the EDA of thestruggles for Democracy and Peace, the PASOK of theearly years of Change, and SYRIZA of theFirst Time Left.” Leaving no room for other neighboring groups to fill…
The persistent emphasis that ELAShas no intention of discussing cooperation withother parties puts an end to any relevant discussion from the past, such as in 2023, when progressive cooperation was the motto of the then-SYRIZA, prompted by the proportional representation system, only to end ingloriously due to PASOK’s equally persistent “no.”
In other words, the message the new party is sending is “each party on its own” and“whomever convinces society will prevail.”
In this regard, experienced analystsalsodetecteda second messagein Mr. Tsipras’s speech yesterday: thatNew Democracy and PASOK are essentially collaborating, since officials from one (PASOK) become ministers in the other (New Democracy) and, therefore, Ch. Trikoupi’s assurance that “we will not cooperate with New Democracy again” is characterized as “an empty promise.”
In other words, according to the same analyses, Mr. Tsipras showed yesterday that he seeksto “claim the mantle”of left-wing progressive representation, undermining PASOK and whatever remains of SYRIZA and the New Left.
The Critical Polls and PASOK
The coming month is already considered critical for achieving (or approaching) the target in the polls to be conductedbefore the summer lullof July and August.
For this reason, Mr. Tsipras is expected to begin his “door-to-door” outreach to citizens early, while starting today, ELAS will join the campaign to collect signaturesunder its founding Declaration on the members.myelas.gr platform: the number of signatures, sources say, will prove that the new partysprings from society, has the spontaneous acceptance of a large segment of it, and is not “Tsipras’s private party,” as H. Trikoupi has been emphasizing since the day before yesterday.
In fact, people close to Mr. Tsipras are even commenting ironically on this position, describing PASOK as a “bankers’ party” because “it owes half a billion euros to the banks.”
Regarding the much-discussed“collective bodies”that ELAS lacks, the same sources clarify that everything will be done in due course. Although, as they add, the structure of the new partywill bear no resemblance tothe “bureaucracy” of traditional parties, as it will be based on “concentric circles” linking the center and the periphery and on digital interaction.
* See the founding declaration in the Related Materials section.