The internal crisis within SYRIZA has entered a new, markedly more confrontational phase, as MP Pavlos Polakis has publicly demanded the resignation of party president Sokratis Famellos. In a sharply worded social media post, the MP for Chania launched a direct attack on Famellos and the party’s leadership team—blaming them for the failure of the strategy to unite progressive forces. He specifically criticized what he called the SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance’s ‘unconditional support’ for ELAS (Hellenic Left Coalition), the new political initiative led by former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
A Direct Challenge to Party Leadership
Polakis’ intervention comes amid deepening fragility in SYRIZA’s internal balance and an ongoing, wide-ranging debate about the party’s future direction. His demands are unequivocal: first, his immediate reinstatement into SYRIZA’s parliamentary group—he stressed he does not accept the label of ‘independent MP’; second, Famellos’ immediate resignation and the election of a new parliamentary group leader, with Polakis stating he will be personally present during that process; and third, the urgent convening of SYRIZA’s Central Committee to establish both an electoral-organizational committee and a program committee. The latter would work on the basis of SYRIZA’s six-pillar platform and its eleven policy proposals for progressive governance.
Toward a Broader Progressive Front
In addition, Polakis called for immediate talks with neighbouring political forces and figures who share SYRIZA’s goal of building a broader progressive front. He signed his statement as a member of both the Political Secretariat and the Central Committee—emphasizing that he remains, in his view, a full-fledged party member, not an independent.
This is the most direct challenge yet faced by Famellos from a senior SYRIZA figure since the recent developments surrounding Tsipras and ELAS. It has dramatically heightened political tensions inside the party headquarters on Kifissias Avenue—and revived speculation about imminent internal realignments.