Some ten years ago, a left party emerged in Greek politics due to the Greek economic crisis. Syriza had a spectacular electoral success in 2012 and became the ruling party in 2015. Although the party line was strictly against the measures imposed on Greece by the IMN and the EU, Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the party and Prime Minister since the beginning of 2015, managed to follow and apply the EU recommendations. However, its government, in coalition with a nationalist party, didn’t pay enough attention to the self-employed people and generally parts of the middle class and lost the elections in 2019. The party faced a further electoral defeat this year, resulting in a deep crisis and the election of a new president.
The election of Stefanos Kasselakis as the new president, who advanced his candidacy a month before the inter-party electoral procedure, caused disputes between the majority of the leadership and the representatives of the Stalinist opposition. A split now threatens the party. Will it be a catastrophic event, or will it open the way for a successful social and democratic party?
About the SYRIZA party
Syriza was born in 2004 as an alliance between Eurocommunists, post-Stalinists, Trotskyists, Maoists, and former members of the Communist Party. It had modest electoral results until the crisis that hit the Greek society pushed considerable numbers of citizens into city riots. As a result, the ruling PASOK (socialist party) experienced a catastrophic defeat, opening the road for more radical political proposals.
Syriza emerged as a radical left party; however, as a party of government, it constantly moved towards more moderate positions. The first split occurred in the summer of 2015 when tough Stalinists, including some ministers, abandoned the party. This split benefited Syriza, allowing more moderate steps.
However, permanent classes between moderates and Stalinists, who unsuccessfully struggled to ensure control, marked party internal life. This “civil war” damaged the party’s role as the leading opposition and reduced its electoral appeal.
Today, after the heavy electoral defeat in the 2023 general elections, Syriza has only 47 MPs, while it is still the Official Opposition.
Pro-Russian and Pro-Chinese sentiments
In international politics, Syriza defended pro-Russian – and pro-China positions. The majority of its members and supporters express cold war-like anti-US and anti-NATO sentiments and soft Euroscepticism.
Concerning Russia, the Greek government (under Syriza) hesitated before accepting the EU sanctions imposed against Russia after the Crimea annexation. However, in May 2016, PM Tsipras hosted Vladimir Putin in Athens to discuss economic cooperation with Russia. On this occasion, Tsipras stated that the EU sanctions imposed on Russia regarding its actions in Ukraine were unproductive.
“We have repeatedly said that the vicious circle of militarisation, Cold War rhetoric, and sanctions is not productive. The solution is dialogue,” Tsipras said at a joint press conference with Putin. According to Tsipras, Greece’s decision to improve its relationship with Russia was a strategic choice.
Similarly, Syriza never assumed a clear policy concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, leading members of the Stalinist tendency, including former ministers, accused NATO of being responsible for the invasion.
In July 2016, the Greek government, together with Hungary of Viktor Orbán, prevented the EU from speaking out about the South China Sea issue. A year later, Greece blocked the EU from releasing a statement regarding the state of human rights in China.
Recently, during the new Palestinian crisis, the party seems to ignore the terrorist attack of Hamas, condemns Israel’s military response, and defends the Hamas-controlled Gaza territory.
It is needless to say that Syriza never said a word in favour of Uyghurs in China, the Rohingya in Myanmar, or the persecution of colonised peoples in Russia.
Can SYRIZA become a ruling party again?
After the latest electoral defeat, Alexis Tsipras resigned from the leadership of Syriza, opening the procedures for the election of a new president. Four members declared ready to run for the leadership and start their campaigns. Suddenly, a fifth candidate emerged quite a month before the voting day. Stefanos Kasselakis, an outsider, won the elections with 56% of the vote and became the new president of the party.
Why? Because the majority of the Syriza constituency wasn’t any more mesmerised by the “radical” rhetoric of the leftists inside the party and needed someone who would renew the hope for ending the stalemate.
The candidature of Kasselakis represented a challenge for the conservative minds of many in Syriza. He grew up and studied in the USA. He worked at Goldman Sachs’ risk management department and the think tank of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is also a self-made entrepreneur in shipping, a scandal for the state employees of the old guard.
What is more, he openly declared to be a member of the LGBTI community and courageously introduced his husband to the public.
This candidature revealed the homophobic sentiments of many inside the party, particularly the Stalinists. Kasselakis also said he supports the separation between the State and the Orthodox Church and abolishing compulsory military service.
Since he declared his candidature, the government-controlled media and several members of the leadership of Syriza deployed a defamation campaign marked in many cases by homophobia.
Syriza is now in front of a cross-road. A split by the hard line Stalinists is eminent while the conservative media continue the defamation campaign against both the party and the new president. There is no doubt that the European elections will test the new leadership.
Thus, the party has a few months to clarify its political position as a centre-left party or a party under permanent internal disputes. It must also decide if it will be a European party aligned with the EU values and thus take a clear position concerning Ukraine and the Middle East crisis.
The disputes and the internal opposition paralyse the party work and prevent the new leadership from elaborating a programme responding to new challenges the Greek society faces.
