By Antonis Anzoletou

The change of baton and the new page in Koumoundourou did not go smoothly, as all of its executives would have expected. One could say that it was done “violently”, as an unknown executive who was simply filling out the Statehood ballot did the impossible. Despite the fact that he was not elected as a member of parliament and despite the fact that the party executives never saw him with a good eye, he managed to “smash” Koumoundourou in a very short period of time.

What does this reveal? How a new world came to the official opposition, but also the old one that remained was asking for a change. Despite the fact that Efi Ahtsioglou was a very strong candidate who would bring fresh air, she has nevertheless been directly linked to the previous government course of SYRIZA, but mainly to the recent painful defeats of the summer. In the history of the post-revolutionary regime, never before has an official opposition halved its forces. The people of SYRIZA did not forgive this and looked for something new. The electorate was not affected by the “flaws” of Stefanos Kasselakis who showed that he did not know some issues in depth or was a good connoisseur of the Greek reality. Obviously, he saw in his eyes the person who can bring SYRIZA back to the government orbit. Will make it; The road will be long and surely everyone is waiting to see what his next moves will be. The appointment of the new head of the parliamentary group (it is rumored that Sokratis Famellos will remain), the convergence of the bodies and of course the organization of the next Congress are priorities that will cause many discussions.

The internal party battle will be tough in the coming period, as many believe that the “Umbrella” and the old executives will not simply leave SYRIZA in his hands. Nevertheless, the upcoming self-governing elections, as well as the European elections in June, may be the “glue” that the party needs at the moment for the common goal of wearing down the government during its second consecutive term.

At 97.39% of integration, in 522 out of 536 polling stations, Stefanos Kasselakis received 70,810 votes and a percentage of 56.04%. Efi Ahtsioglou received 55,546 votes and a percentage of 43.96%. It is clear that the former Minister of Labor did not manage to reduce the gap of approximately 13,000 votes that separated her from Mr. Kasselakis, on the contrary, it widened. And in the region, as well as in Attica, the difference remained large and the approximately 8,750 who came to the polls today for the first time, everything shows that they did not choose it entirely, but were divided between the two camps. The first picture also shows how the “block” of Nikos Pappas was almost coordinated to Stefanos Kasselakis. The new president’s first statement in Koumoundourou after his election contained a personal reference to the former Minister of Digital Policy whom he thanked, but not to Alexis Tsipras. The former prime minister will have the opportunity to meet him today in Parliament at 12 noon.

The new president of SYRIZA received a warm welcome from his volunteers – supporters with slogans different from those heard so far in Koumoundourou: “Stefan, go ahead, change everything”, “Stefane, strong government again”. The youth of the party gave a particularly warm reception to Efi Ahtsioglou, shouting slogans more familiar to the party: “Until Brussels is heard well, you will not get rid of the Left”, and without stopping they continued: “struggle, rupture, upheaval, history is written with disobedience”. The slogans of the two sides may be indicative of the “different worlds” that will clash in the next period within the party.