Intervention shortly before the start of the meeting of the Central Committee was made by North Athens Prefectural Committee of SYRIZA, who with her resolution, asks for her immediate return of Stefanos Kasselakis in his duties and the appeal to the polls for the election of a new Central Committee, which, as he claims, is in obvious disharmony with the base.

In the resolution, which was approved by an absolute majority, NE of North Athens denounces the Central Committee that “with a slim majority of 15 of its members (out of the required limit of 148) and with a completely controversial procedure, it decided to withdraw its confidence in the President of the party ».

The announcement in detail:

“Great river swollen,
the wrath of the people,
rolls over the fields
who’s stopping her, who’s stopping her

Centuries on her knees with bitterness,
the soul of the people,
wings now it takes off and rises,
who’s stopping her, who’s stopping her.”

Fuente Ovejuna (Lope de Vega-Th. Mikroutsikos)

The Prefectural Committee of North Athens of SYRIZA-PS, the largest NE in the country with approximately 15,000 members in 14 Municipalities, is now obliged with a sense of responsibility and camaraderie to take a public position, after the events of the KE (7-8/9/24), the decision of the PG (12/9/24) and what was heard in the last 12 days in the public debate.

According to the party’s constitution, the Congress (ordinary-extraordinary-permanent) “is the supreme body of the party. It votes on decisions that are valid until the next congress.” (Articles 20-21-22)

“The Central Committee is the highest political body. He is responsible for the implementation of the decisions of the conference.” (Article 16 par 1)

That is, the Congress decides and the Central Committee implements these decisions.
And certainly the KE does not derive from any article of the statute the jurisdiction “to authentically express the party’s statute”.

At the February 2024 conference, delegates overwhelmingly decided that:
“The conference reaffirms that the party must not enter a new cycle of introversion. NO NEW ELECTION OF PRESIDENT IS NEEDED.
THE CONGRESS CONFIRMS ITS CONFIDENCE IN THE PRESIDENT STEFANO KASSELAKIS and GIVES AN ORDER to the President and the BODIES of the party to go united in the next political and electoral battles with the first one of the European elections, with a single political function, bound by our Statute and Declaration, for the interests of society and the country”

Only 5 months later and while we have completed only 1/3 of the term of office of the President, the Central Committee instead of implementing, as required by the statute, the above mandate of the Congress, decides to activate the No Confidence Clause against the democratic of President-elect Stefanos Kasselakis with controversial and divisive reasons that cannot be convincing for thousands of party members.

The Central Committee, a subordinate body of the Congress (163 out of 296 members), with a slim majority of 15 of its members (out of the required limit of 148) and with a completely controversial procedure, decided to withdraw its confidence in the President of the party.

Unfortunately, 163 members of the KE ignored the 75,000 who voted for Mr. Kasselakis (9/23) and the overwhelming majority of the 5,000 delegates (2/24) who reaffirmed the base’s trust in the President and through an undemocratic and controversial ” of secret voting” which was secret for 3/4 and open for 1/4 (telephone call with conference), with the unacceptable excuse “we have done it before or it is customary”, they decide to impeach the President of the party.

Unfortunately, comrades, you sow winds and we will all reap storms.

And of course the prefectural elections are held by secret ballot, just like the national elections, but by analogy, as the motion of censure in the Parliament is done by open vote, this should also happen to the internal party motion of censure.

Because those who, with their vote, mandated their representation to the members of the KE have the right to know that these members vote on key issues.
Because – after all – the elected official must publicly assume the burden of such important decisions and not hide behind “usual procedures”.
Because this ensures transparency and respect for the essence of democracy and does not leave the taste of “pronunciation” of some party elite.

This is how we reached the point where the higher body (CE) decided not to implement the clearest decision of the highest body (Congress) and lead the party into a political spiral that disastrously drags our members, the Member Organizations, the Prefectural Committees and also the our wider political space, to the delight of the ND government and the would-be overlords of the Center-Left. The majority of the KE did not take into account the smooth day-to-day operation of the Party and bear the full responsibility for the Party’s poll decline.
With her decision, she bears a huge responsibility, that for the first time in the post-political history of our country, the leader of the Official Opposition did not speak at the TIF, presenting the program of the potential governing party.

Regarding the additional proposal of the PG to the KE, we will completely agree with the second paragraph, that:
“Respecting the decisions of the collective organs of the Party and observing the constitution and party procedures is an obligation for every member and executive and no one is superior to them.”

But we wonder if this respect for decisions concerns all members or some of them? Does the allusion to “follow the instructions” apply equally to all of us?
Why did the competent bodies not show the same sensitivity, to the vicarious and repeatedly insulting and undermining towards the party, the President and the members, behavior of – fortunately a few – famous executives, with their public positions in the pro-government media undermining the party.
Are there political “aristocrats” and “plebeians” in SYRIZA PS?

Therefore, because there is an obvious disharmony of the base of the party and the body of the Permanent Congress with the temporary, heterogeneous, artificial and weak majority of the KE, the decision of “Withdrawal of confidence in the President” is now constitutionally and politically meteoric.

We require:
– Implementation and respect of the decision of the Permanent Conference (2/24), by the KE and the Political Secretariat.
– Immediate return of the President Stefanos Kasselakis to his duties.
-Immediate holding of the scheduled Statutory conference and immediate election of a new Central Committee.
-Acceleration of the appeal to the base of the party (members and friends) with democratic procedures, without technical exclusions, without statutory deviations.

We stand by the legally and democratically elected President of SYRIZA-PS Mr. Stefanos Kasselakis and as NE of North Athens, as leftists, as democrats we will do the same for every legally elected President of our party whether we voted for him or not, whether we agree or not with his choices or behaviors.

We are against decisions that touch the core of the ideals for which we are fighting.
We remain steadfastly committed to a party of members and not mechanisms, without yearbooks and leftists, for a governing Left that will overthrow the tumult of the ND and provide solutions to the needs and anxieties of the many, with the People in the foreground.

Maroussi September 20, 2024

The resolution was approved by an absolute majority of the plenary session of the North Athens Prefectural Committee