Confusion in SYRIZA: Kasselakis throws down the gauntlet to Tsipras

The main opposition party, SYRIZA, was plunged into further chaos over the weekend after its leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, whose term at the helm has been questioned by party activists, criticised his predecessor, Alexis Tsipras, in a post on social media on Friday evening in which he asked for support “without games”.

“Come, take power and I will be a soldier, otherwise support me without games,” Kasselakis wrote, adding in a lengthy post that he had not come to Greece to waste time “on daily intra-party civil wars”. But his post sparked further outrage from party cadres, with influential official Thanasis Theocharopoulos describing it as “soft”.

He added in comments to Skai TV on Saturday that since Kasselakis is asking someone else to take over, in a social media message he posted on Friday, “he should resign.” He also noted that Kasselakis’ position is an obstacle to forming a broader left-of-center front.

The Greeks said in the elections that no center-left party can do this alone. So this is a request from the people, not a request from forces operating behind the scenes,” he emphasized.