There is particular satisfaction in Koumoundourou for participating in the innovative process of the primary elections that formed the European ballot of SYRIZA. Party sources reported last Monday night that the participation exceeded the threshold of 50,000 that had been set by the party officials. The fact that old and new members, as well as thousands of friends, voted en masse, live and online, in a process that is another step in the transformation of SYRIZA into a digital party, is taken by top Koumundourou officials as another indication of its ever-escalating dynamics. “A party that gives a real voice to its base, its only strength in the upcoming battles for the progressive counterattack, for the changes that the country needs”, they emphasize.

Regarding comments heard from the government side, but also opposition parties in relation to the 145,000 members who voted last year in September in the first round for the selection of the new president, party circles reported: “The comparison of the participation in the primary elections for the European ballot of SYRIZA with the participation in the presidential elections is deemed inadmissible. The critical internal party elections for the emergence of the new leadership were contested by the course of SYRIZA after the electoral defeat and the resignation of Alexis Tsipras. They acquired an enormous weight that attracted the interest of all citizens, as the stake was the election of the leader of the official opposition of the country.

The same sources commented that the vote for the European ballot paper, with completely different characteristics, was the reward of more than 63,000 members and friends of SYRIZA. In Koumoundourou they believe that the 35 persons who were nominated are a representative sample of society. They are still setting the bar high in relation to the upcoming polls on June 9 and very soon all the candidates will start an extroverted election campaign.

The list of “42” will be closed on Friday with the special event organized by the party for the European elections. Stefanos Kasselakis in his speech will announce the five missing persons to complete the European ballot. So far he has not opened his papers on how he wants to move. It is considered very likely that he will also choose persons outside the qualifying list. The current MEPs Kostas Arvanitis and Elena Kountouras will participate ex officio in the ballot.

New Left

The New Left also announced 18 new nominations yesterday. The party is in a race to consolidate well above the 3% that the latest polls show it. Among them stand out two former top officials of SYRIZA with whom the parliamentary group of “11” wants to signal the strong ties that still exist with the Left. The former Minister of Economy Giorgos Stathakis, but also the former Minister of Education Nikos Filis.