“It’s a shame that an entire area feels uncomfortable because of the political identity that SYRIZA is shaping,” said the former speaker of the Parliament, Nikos Voutsis.

Speaking to ERT about the recent developments in SYRIZA, Mr. Voutsis underlined: “We did not imagine that SYRIZA -Progressive Alliance would be led to rupture and disintegration. We neither wanted it nor worked for it. It is a development that came after the election of the new president of SYRIZA, which in my opinion is not – we have said it in all tones defensible in society in the sense of the political point of view, the ideological point of view, the identity of the party – and so now we are in a new day, in a new phase. I would not like to exhaust ourselves in matters concerning criticism in relation to the party, with SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance. We have now started a broader effort for what I call the restructuring of the progressive political scene in general, because the country needs this and each of us will be judged there both individually and collectively and that is why we also support the effort that is being made in the Parliament from eleven colleagues, mainly younger executives but not only, who are trying to find their pace and shape an alternative political presence, always in the context of the Left, the renewalist, the radical, the kinetic and within the Parliament. All of these will be decided very quickly as you understand, they will be present both in view of the tax bill and in view of the budget. And at the same time, groupings are forming all over the country that discuss these issues from friends and comrades who have either left SYRIZA or are in a dilemma.

“We are not in a hurry nor are we on the verge of announcing a party in our area, I want to be very clear, we have said it in all tones. The Parliamentary Group will of course be formed as it should be from the Constitution and from there on, by opening the procedures in the areas of ecology and internationally and in Greece and in other areas that were outside of SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance, we will try to stop – and with this I close in this regard – the very large leak that existed and unfortunately continues to exist towards the Communist Party, towards PASOK, towards activism, towards abstinence.

“It’s a shame that an entire area that was formed over ten years on the values ​​and ideals, but also on the governmental act of SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance, feels at this moment inauspicious precisely because of the political identity formed by SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance. This we can neither sum up, nor do a patience that is asked of us for certain months or be jointly responsible. And that’s exactly why, absolutely politically I would say and completely civilized, our paths diverged.”

At another point, Nikos Voutsis, when asked if Alexis Tsipras, Sokratis Famellos and Olga Gerovasilis are turning and becoming more center-right, answered “the current leadership group about Stefanos Kasselakis, as well as his beliefs themselves, which with great sincerity will I was saying that he has presented them and they are in the norms of the Right, of the Democratic Party of America, they do not leave much leeway.

“To all those whom you mention and who obviously do not have these views, it is clear, they do not leave much room to lead the party in another direction and save a situation which has a negative dynamic in it. I’m not referring to the opinion polls, I’m referring to what you see around you and I also referred to parties, i.e. suddenly the whole general progressive political scene is fueled, fed by people, by electoral influence, by young people who leave SYRIZA suddenly KKE, PASOK , abstinence. This should concern everyone, i.e. whether this course can actually have a return, can be reversed, etc. I spoke about irreparable damage. On the other hand, I repeat to you, I have unlimited respect for all the comrades and the top officials and the ordinary members who stayed and fight their battle as they think, I say possibly with delusions inside SYRIZA, comrades I will always call them, I hope to meet again, because my own experience of so many decades says that there are coincidences many times and again and again. But the task of the rest of us today is to give a new hope, a new hope to the young, in the setting of the Left which is under a depressing dynamic on a European scale with the development of the extreme right, to face the issues of climate change and climate crisis and artificial intelligence, things that fundamentally change our perspective on how we see things. This is our task now.”