“Let’s not beat around the bush; we must take a stand on this question: are we for or against Alexis Tsipras’s initiative?” With these words, Socrates Famellos posed the dilemma to the Central Committee of SYRIZA, which is meeting today to discuss the party’s future (and what kind of future…).
He himself gave the expected answer: “Beside him. Because that is the progressive way of thinking,” he said, having earlier elaborated on the position made known yesterday that Mr. Tsipras’s ELAS should be supported in the elections and that there should be no opposing ballot.
“Our citizens are telling us, ‘Work it out so we can be done with them’ (i.e., the Mitsotakis government), and SYRIZA, in all its decisions, has committed to doing everything for the unity and reconstruction of the progressive camp,” he noted.
He added: “The founding of the new party by Alexis Tsipras has created a new reality; ELAS has generated significant momentum and is shifting the balance of power. For the past eight months, we have said that our paths are not in opposition. I say clearly: this is a positive development that we must not treat as adversarial, which would be a strategic mistake.”
Mr. Famellos argued that the above does not constitute a dissolution of SYRIZA, but rather “a coming together and convergence of progressive forces to achieve a progressive solution in the elections.”
And he again called on the party’s MPs to remain in his parliamentary group, attempting to prevent some from breaking away to side with Mr. Tsipras from now on.
“We are living through… hysterical moments”
The slip of the tongue made by Mr. Famellos at the beginning of his speech—“we are living through hysterical moments,” he said, instead of “historic”—reflects the prevailing mood within the party and, in particular, within the leadership body meeting today.
Before the meeting began, Pavlos Polakis gathered 37 signatures from members of the Central Committee supporting his own proposal (SYRIZA’s participation in the elections). However, given that the body has 270 members, it remains to be seen whether and how many will support this position going forward…