Sokratis Famellos announced on Thursday he is resigning as the leader of left-wing SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance. However, he will retain his seat in Parliament and his membership in the party, he stated.
Τhe resignation of the drab and plain-looking and acting Famellos short before the elections period officially starts, triggered a series of resignations from other SYRIZA lawmakers and party officials. Furthermore, it leaves the party that governed Greece from 2015 to 2019 “naked” and exposed to a very high risk of a physical disappearance from the country’s political scene.
For the time being, three of the founding members and possible leadership candidates – Polakis, Dourou and Pappas – are pressing for solutions as soon as possible via the party’s Central Committee and with the option that SYRIZA joins the elections as an autonomous political party.
However, the party could hardly make it to the Parliament achieving the 3% threshold, as its former voters have turned their back -as public pinion polls show – and the former leader and ex PM Alexis Tsipras appears attractive in the eyes of many.
Famellos – resignation announcement
In a video announcing his resignation from the party leadership, Famellos underlined that he sees “unfortunately the same mistakes and same personal strategies reproduced that led to SYRIZA-PA’s discrediting in 2023.” He also issued a call to SYRIZA and all of the Left to work together to overturn conservative rule.
Famellos gave a brief review of what the party had achieved under his leadership, which lasted 1.5 years, including settling all party debts, paying outstanding debts to staff at Avgi newspaper and Sto Kokkino radio station, and tabling proposals in Parliament to meet needs of Greek citizens. He said that his efforts to collaborate with other parties “met the rejection of PASOK and Nea Aristera, which bear significant responsibility for the fragmentation” of the Left.
In addition, the SYRIZA MP said, the party’s Central Committee decided on June to to take “a brave step, which expressed the members and voters of SYRIZA-PA” and support former SYRIZA leader and current ELAS party founder and leader Alexis Tsipras.
“Despite the great concessions we made, ELAS publicly rejected cooperation and convergence, going against society’s encouragement and demand of unity,” adding that members of the SYRIZA party also undermined the effort.
“I do not want nor can I become member to this division at this critical political time in Greece,” Famellos said, calling on all to assume their responsibilities.
