Position for the latest developments in SYRIZA takes Yannis Dragasakis, stressing that “the existence” of the party is threatened.

The “civil” dispute that has erupted in Koumoundourou after successive electoral failures undermines the “position of the political subject SYRIZA”, suggesting to Stefanos Kasselakis that “the new leadership must be “framed” by the elected bodies of the party instead of relying on institutions views that are in the minority in the party and have repeatedly damaged its public image.”

In detail, the statement of Mr. Dragasaki:

For SYRIZA

One million citizens voted in the recent national elections for SYRIZA with a mandate to defend the world of work, income and pensions from the scourge of punctuality, the public goods of health, education, the environment from the policies of privatization and degradation, and to present an alternative plan to the politics of ND and Mr. Mitsotakis.
One hundred and fifty thousand came to the polls for the election of the new president of SYRIZA, the filling of the void left by the departure of Alexis Tsipras and the coordinated course of the party in the new circumstances.

Having experienced the entire historical path of SYRIZA, since its creation, I am not and could not be neutral in relation to the developments. I have, at various times, expressed my views on the course and deficits of SYRIZA, on the recent presidential election as well as on the candidacy of Stefanos Kasselakis. But, where we have arrived, the fact that the very existence of SYRIZA is now threatened, if developments are left to the momentum they have taken, is paramount. So, I believe that we must look at the situation with honesty and responsibility and look for ways out. The following thoughts are part of this direction.

The crisis in SYRIZA, which has been developing for a long time – with our collective responsibility – but worsened after the recent election of the new leadership, directly affects both the position of the party as the official opposition in the party system and the Greek political system in general. The dissolving condition that has been formed, with its acute and boundless intra-party polarization and diffuse fluidity, triggers centrifugal tendencies and forces of disintegration. In this climate, with the electoral failures that have preceded and the indisputable collective deficits of strategy, the position of the political entity SYRIZA, which constituted the democratic way out of the crisis in the last decade and still constitutes, even after the reduction of its power, is undermined , a positive exception in the context of Europe.

If SYRIZA fails to live up to its role, it will suffer overall. Therefore a change of climate and public image is urgently needed. In this direction, there is an urgent need to take initiatives to create conditions of elementary mutual trust, taking into account that in a few months the extremely critical, from a political point of view, European elections will be held. A first step in this direction could be the withdrawal of all requests and threats for executive deletions and correspondingly the transfer of the dialogue and confrontation of political opinions from the media to the party organs. The new leadership must be “framed” by the elected organs of the party instead of relying on opinion carriers who are a minority in the party and have repeatedly damaged its public image. That is why the function of the organs must be restored and made dense so that they function as the exclusive decision-making centers. It must also be respected that the existing Statute and the conference decisions constitute the binding political framework for all of SYRIZA and its common course. And if that had happened, we would not have reached the current problematic situation.

I am under no illusions and there are no easy solutions. I remind you, however, that SYRIZA was created and achieved important goals because it chose the path of “unity with diversity” and overcame its difficulties with promotional compositions, without breaking away from its strategic goals. SYRIZA is a global example precisely because it was able to unite over 18 organizations and movements with the most diverse views from the extreme Left to the democratic center. SYRIZA can overcome its current crisis, moving forward with the changes and transformations that the conditions of our time require, if it stays true to its principles, stops targeting internal enemies, and utilizes its accumulated knowledge and experience.

C. Dr.