50 members of the Organization of University Members SYRIZA-P.S. announced their withdrawal from SYRIZA in a collective text. Thessaloniki, throwing “fire” at Stefanos Kasselakis.

As they state in their letter, “Stefanos Kasselakis, after taking over as President of SYRIZA-PS, assisted by a personal leadership group, manifests a leader-centric political behavior and develops a divisive and contradictory discourse, which is not at all consistent with the principles and democratic function of the renewalist and radical left”.

Although they are proud of SYRIZA’s governance, but also what it has achieved, they criticize the attitude that the party took from 2018 onwards.

In their letter they conclude, explaining that they are leaving SYRIZA, “because it no longer expresses us ideologically and politically. We consider that we have no place and we do not want to participate in a march away from the values ​​and principles of the radical renewalist and ecological Left, as well as democracy.”

The entire letter of the 50 university students

Thessaloniki 24/11/2023

ORGANIZATION OF UNIVERSITY MEMBERS SYRIZA-PS THESSALONIKI
Collective Resignation Text of members of the OM University SYRIZA-PS Thessaloniki

A. With two previous letters, addressed to the President and the two Secretaries of SYRIZA-PS, the Organization of University Members SYRIZA-PS. Thessaloniki had expressed strong concerns regarding the course of the party, which is rapidly abandoning the radical Left and intra-party democracy.

Stefanos Kasselakis, after taking over as President of SYRIZA-PS, assisted by a personal leadership group, manifests a leader-centric political behavior and develops a divisive and contradictory discourse, which is not at all consistent with the principles and democratic functioning of the renewalist and radical left .

Sometimes he calls for capitalism not to be demonized, and sometimes he glorifies the Left. He calls for unity, but promotes executive deletions, even in terms of “enemy within”. He insults executives and the history of the left with extreme phraseology, while allowing his collaborators to ban disagreements with unprecedented authoritarianism. It announces a referendum on the removal of executives, which institutionally require consultation and justification and are the work of the Ethics Committee. He uses medical terms (which unfortunately suggest far-right tactics), but also anecdotal references to a fifth phalanx and defectors, to the discredit of dissenters within the party. It discredits and circumvents collective bodies, acting arbitrarily by unannounced changes of bodies responsible or creating new bodies. Sometimes he glorifies and sometimes lightly criticizes previous emblematic collective decisions (liquidity reserve, fiscal “cushion” of 37 billion euros). He claims that he addresses the public “directly”, a claim that is impractical and incompatible with the modern character of the internal democracy of the left party, which is either representative or not a democracy and where representation is not limited to delegation by the election of the leader but is a continuous creative composition between partners and tendencies.

B. It is a commonplace today that we certainly did not reach this point suddenly and without mistakes. At this, as we feel, liminal moment, it is useful to make a brief assessment of SYRIZA’s recent course.
In the memorandum period, the first SYRIZA government from 2015 to 2018, was called upon to produce a titanic project, under the constant political war it received from the trio of creditors of the country (“Troika”: Commission, ECB, IMF), but and from the then opposition. The referendum on whether or not to accept the loan agreement, which was going to be imposed on us, had a weak point, that the question around “YES or NO” was somewhat difficult to interpret. Nevertheless, the citizens realized the unequal struggle of the then SYRIZA government and in the elections of September 2015 they supported the government’s effort to reduce the consequences of the 3rd memorandum.
The SYRIZA government took over a badly bankrupt economy from the ND and PASOK governments. He reversed the downward course of the country and handed over to the next government a sufficiently recovered economy, with a fiscal “cushion” of 37 billion Euros and not a new preventive credit line, which the ND wanted. Exiting the memorandum was a feat that would not have been achieved by any other government. As well as the diplomatic initiatives for the international treaty of Prespa, which the SYRIZA government negotiated and co-signed with a sense of responsibility, despite the political cost, for the overall resolution of a chronic issue on our northern border, in conditions of generalized geopolitical instability in the region .
At the same time, the socially weaker were supported, with free care in hospitals, with a bold strengthening of public health and public education (school meals), with the guarantee of common goods (water, electricity). Institutional emblematic interventions were made in education and research (such as Law 4429/2016, Law 4485/17, Law 4521/2018, Law 4547/18, Law 4610/19, Technical education, etc.). A clear improvement was noted in the detention conditions of prisoners, which were intolerable and led to international condemnations of the country, while important institutional interventions were also made, such as e.g. the cohabitation agreement, the decriminalization of homosexual acts, the modernization of the criminal code, etc.
We are satisfied and proud of this governmental project, because it was achieved in adverse circumstances. However, from 2018 onwards, when the possibility for more unbound legislation and governance was finally obtained, we did not have time, or perhaps the SYRIZA government did not take care in time and to a sufficient extent to chart a qualitatively new political direction for the country, but the first steps were given ” breaths” in collective labor agreements and in general labor relations.
SYRIZA’s appeal to its popular social base began to wane. The party attempted a dull social opening towards what was called the “middle class”, which at the political level corresponded to a partial shift towards the “Center” of the political system, without even taking initiatives to integrate it into the value system of the Left. Gradually, the social base of the Left (workers, farmers, professionals, public and private employees, educational community) shrank, as well as the social collectives (scientific associations, self-governing factions, etc.) as interlocutors of the party. The party gradually evolved into a more permanent leadership structure, sidelining the influence of its members and organizations towards the government and the prime minister.
The self-criticism for the electoral defeat in the self-governing elections, in the European elections and in the parliamentary elections of 2019 was not done systematically and in a structured way throughout the party’s organizations. From 2019 and from there, SYRIZA adopted a leader-centric character, as a permanent feature now. Instead of the selection of persons with coordinating roles (e.g. self-governing and other officials), the production of positions and the decision-making on critical issues (green or concrete, etc.) starting from consultations of local and sectoral Organizations, decisions were taken from above. The case of political labor is special, where the key demands of the labor movement were included in the SYRIZA PS Program for labor issues. In general, the party, although it should function as a necessary channel of democratic representation between the leadership and the grassroots, was underestimated. In addition, the party’s indifference to mass representation and accountability was in good faith combined with theories of “direct democracy”, which may be functional and necessary for small communities and movements, but are practically inapplicable to the general population.
Today we live in a historical period in which the demands of the radical Left for essential democracy, for the possible minimization of social inequality and for a social rule of law can be met with those of the great social majority. In this challenge, SYRIZA-P.S. it should respond effectively, bolder and with a comprehensive governance program. Unfortunately, however, a course of degradation was followed both of the radical elements of the Left and of the essential principles of democracy (participation, representation, accountability).

C. The Organization of University Members SYRIZA-P.S. Thessaloniki is a multi-member and active OM, within our university institutions, but also more broadly, which has always operated with a left-wing and democratic ethos, with wisdom and political culture. However, today’s SYRIZA is no longer a spacious political space for the synthesis of different opinions and traditions of the Left.
For the above reasons, we the undersigned withdraw from the Organization of University Members SYRIZA-P.S. Thessaloniki and from SYRIZA-PS, because it no longer expresses us ideologically and politically. We feel that we have no place and do not want to participate in a movement away from the values ​​and principles of the radical renewalist and ecological Left as well as democracy.
With a sense of responsibility and unwavering commitment, we remain committed to the defense of the democratic and public University, to the struggle against social inequalities and injustices, to the struggle for democracy, equality, solidarity, to the perspective of socialist and ecological transformation.

Signatories-Signatories Academicians (alphabetical)

1. Angelopoulos Giorgos
2. Adamidis Panagiotis
3. Adamou Christina
4. Avgitidou Sophia
5. Garifalos Alexandros
6. Goulianas Kostas
7. Divaris Giorgos
8. Ziaka Angeliki
9. Ride Maria
10. Kazakh Aris
11. Kalogiannis Stavros
12. Kalfakakou Glykeria
13. Kamtsidou Iphigenia
14. Angeliki Koiliari
15. Kotzambasi Athena
16. John of Krestenitis
17. Kyparos Antonis
18. Kyriazopoulos Apostolos
19. Kostopoulou Stella
20. Lada Sasha
21. Mitrou Giannis
22. Baltzis Alexandros
23. Michalis Bartsidis
24. Betsakos Vassilis
25. Boudouroglu Fani
26. Mylopoulos Nikitas
27. Nahum Ioanna
28. Nikolaidis Michalis
29. Economidis Panagiotis
30. Panagiotopoulos Kyriakos
31. Papadopoulou Paraskevi
32. Papatheodorou Efi
33. Nikos Paraskevopoulos
34. Paschal Vassilis
35. Pavlidou Eleni
36. Prinos Panagiotis
37. Sigalas Michalis
38. Stamatis Demosthenes
39. Stamatis Kostas
40. Stamou Anastasia
41. Stamou Giorgos
42. Stefanidis Giorgos
43. Stylianou Aris
44. Tranos Rose
45. Tsiokanos Athanasios
46. ​​George Tsirigotis
47. Foutakis Dimitris
48. Nikos Charalambakis
49. Choli Theodora
50. Psyllos Dimitris