That they take “the power of participation, decision and power in the party…”, Stefanos Kasselakis called on Saturday to the executives and members of SYRIZA from Ptolemaida, as part of his tour in western Macedonia.

He said the leadership “must take direction and be accountable to the grassroots” and “not treat you like extras at conferences.” He said it was up to them to change that and that “all we have to do is organize for this conference.” “Because apparently,” he argued, “what is at stake in the conference is not even the no-confidence vote of a Central Committee elected in 2022 with the 2019 electorate. It is not even whether that no-confidence vote should be ratified or not. The stake now is whether the legally elected president of the party can be a candidate for president again.” He added that “it is a stake for democracy and the Left does not deserve the stain of the lack of democracy in the election by the grassroots and its President. We have to face it at the conference.”

“The answer to the lack of democracy is never to run away. Neither is the split. The answer is more democracy. And this is what I invite you to do together. Don’t put it down. Don’t listen to their mud. Don’t listen to their accusations…”, he said, among other things.