Stefanos Kasselakis

Today finds the SYRIZA Progressive Alliance in a new internal landscape, as the challenge to party leader Stefanos Kasselakis by independent MP for Chania and former strong supporter, Pavlos Polakis, has dramatically altered the situation for the main opposition party.

Polakis: “I will prove useful”

The festering tension within main opposition SYRIZA was on display again on Thursday after the leadership of Stefanos Kasselakis was openly challenged in the post-summer meeting of the party's political secretariat.

Recently ousted party MP Pavlos Polakis called for a change in leadership, though he did not directly name party leader  Kasselakis.

"The leadership cannot move forward like this. It cannot provide a political solution. Change is needed, and I will contribute to this effort for change," Polakis reportedly said in front of Political Secretariat members.

During a meeting of the party’s Political Secretariat, Polakis suggested that changes were needed and implied he could play a role in this process. His remark, “I will be useful,” was interpreted by some party members as a sign of potential candidacy.

The Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection has accused the President and officials of SYRIZA of deliberate and complete distortion of the truth, responding to comments by Kasselakis, who claimed that absorption of the civil protection programs from the Recovery Fund is only at 1%.

An inspection was conducted yesterday by a team from the Piraeus and Islands Ephorate of Antiquities at the residence of Stefanos Kasselakis concerning the pool at his house on Spetses, as revealed by Thema.

Today’s meeting in Penteli, led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, will resemble a mini-Cabinet session. It will take place this afternoon and will include several ministers, deputy ministers, general secretaries, the Governor of Attica, and mayors from the affected areas.

The Hellenic Police announced on Monday that an officer reportedly responsible for vulgar social media posts had retired in 2021.

According to SYRIZA MP Elena Akrita, this is the person with whom MEP Nikos Pappas had an altercation via private Instagram messages.

The official statement from the Hellenic Police reads as follows:

Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis called on Sunday for SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis to expel MEP Nikos Pappas from the party after a private Instagram conversation in which Pappas appeared to make offensive remarks against a police officer was leaked online.

Main opposition SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis responded on Saturday to the social media posts of "hate and homophobia" directed against him on a site that published his wedding gift list, blaming the ruling conservative New Democracy party and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself.