Stefanos Kasselakis

The internal strife raging within main opposition SYRIZA, with the expulsion of top officials by new leader Stefanos Kasselakis causing aftershocks that are reverberating across the country's political scene as the specter of a split looms and the creation of a new left-wing party is becoming increasingly likely.

Three leading members of main opposition SYRIZA have said the party is facing a "very serious crisis" and have called for an immediate meeting of the party's political secretariat.

Three senior members of the main opposition have slammed an overnight decision by SYRIZA's new leader to expel them for openly criticising his views, saying that it is up to the party's ethics committee to push out members.

The new leader of the opposition, Stefanos Kasselakis, began his tenure as leader of the left-wing SYRIZA party by making some modest personnel changes that have already resulted in pushback.

Also, Kasselakis failed to persuade his main rival for the party leadership, lawmaker Effie Achtsioglou, to take any leadership role in the party or the parliamentary group.

For a democracy to function properly it needs not only an efficient government, but also a strong opposition able to offer, both in Parliament and elsewhere, constructive criticism and viable alternative solutions to the problems facing the country.