By Antonis Anzoletou

THE Alexis Tsipras at the international conference organized by his Institute he spoke about the dangers that exist from the fragmentation of the progressive space. From last summer onwards – and even more so in the last European elections – this fact was reflected and made even more difficult the task of those who envision a unification of forces. It was essentially confirmed that New Democracy in this period she is playing without an opponent and that’s why the big drop in her percentages didn’t cause many internal tremors.

The split in the Left arose mainly from the forces that left the “guts of SYRIZA. It started with LAE in 2015 which last year was absorbed into Day25 and followed by Freedom Sailing of Zoe Konstantopoulou and New Left with the double split of 2023.

It is not a homogeneous audience that, if united, will rally around Koumoundourou. The war between them is great. All the parties that at least theoretically belong to the center-left and achieved a percentage of more than 1% in the European elections (SYRIZA, PASOK, Pleussi Eleftherias, MeRA25, New Left, KOSMOS), not counting the KKE, they add up to a percentage that reaches 37.2%.

The discussion during this period has focused on whether a possible “marriage” between SYRIZA and PASOK could proceed so that the two parties are united, creating a new body to face the New Democracy. THE Stefanos Kasselakis he has appeared hesitant, speaking only of parliamentary cooperation.

THE Nikos Androulakis has focused on the intra-party race for the nomination of the new president, which has caught fire in PASOK. The forces SYRIZA – PASOK in the European elections reached 27.71% while a year ago it was 29.67%. It is a very difficult discussion that certainly requires the consent of the leadership to begin. The general statements of executives about “the basis that will give the impetus to the progressive space to react against the hegemony of the New Democracy” are vague and in several cases they are heard only to avoid any developments. From October onwards, the pressure on the leaderships is expected to intensify.

The questions are many. The electoral system does not allow a coalition of parties to receive the bonus, so “mediocre” solutions will not be accepted. A possible merger would cause many rifts, as there are many PASOK voters who are closer to New Democracy, while there is still a small audience in SYRIZA with more radical characteristics that would not look favorably on the merger with Harilaou Trikoupi. The biggest obstacle is who will be qualified to become the leader of the new space and how the ferments and discussions will result in nominations that will be widely accepted.

The discussion may currently concern SYRIZA and PASOK, as only with their own base can something strong be set up, but for the project to be complete it also requires the assistance of the other forces. On a minimal programming basis that should start to be discussed early on. In the economy, in education, in national issues, but also in relation to the rule of law, their views in several cases do not coincide. The equation is multifactorial, as it is not just what will happen in the major urban centers.

The organizations of the region should also actively participate in the project, with local communities having their own particular characteristics. There is also the “trap” of complacency of the three years until the next national elections. The space seems long, yet the task is extremely difficult. From the moment Kyriakos Mitsotakis begins to receive “flesh and bones” he can easily play the “card” of surprise and run the political developments.