Main opposition party SYRIZA lost one more seat in the Parliament after Magnisia MP Katerina Papanatsiou resigned from the party on Monday. The party has now 35 seats in a Parliament of 300 in total.
She justified her decision citing disagreements with the party’s new leadership.
Decrying SYRIZA’s “gradual mutation” since Stefanos Kasselakis was elected to head the party, Papanatsiou became the 12th MP to defect after the departure of several prominent lawmakers in the wake of September’s leadership race.
“In SYRIZA, we had learned to discuss disagreements, knowing that different opinions are welcome,” Papanatsiou said in a statement announcing her resignation. She accused Kasselakis of using “unusual methods to deal with every disagreement within the party.” She described him as “apprentice wizard” who “constantly changes stance on fundamental issues,” adding that he does not “respect” the party’s institutional decision-making procedures.
Papanatsiou was elected to Parliament with SYRIZA in 2015 and served as deputy finance minister in 2016-2019.
This latest defection further erodes SYRIZA’s position as the country’s second-largest party by increasing the distance from incumbent New Democracy, which has a clear majority with 158 seats, while reducing it with third-placed PASOK, which holds 31 seats, notes daily kathimerini.com.
