Speaking on the Mega TV show Koinonia Ora Mega on Tuesday morning (14 July), Pavlos Polakis expressed confidence that under his leadership, SYRIZA would return to parliament — and not just barely, but with a respectable vote share.
A Historic Political Anomaly
Polakis described as unprecedented in global political history the decision by SYRIZA’s Central Committee to endorse another party — specifically, the newly formed ELAS led by Alexis Tsipras. “We’ve gone through an extremely difficult phase, one in which no one is happy,” he said. “For two months, you had a Central Committee and a party president leading a former governing party — only for that body to voluntarily decide, ‘We will support another party.’ That has never happened before anywhere in the world.”
He pointed to Tsipras’s public statement declaring that “the historical cycle of the other party has closed, and I am opening my own historical cycle here” — adding that Tsipras made it clear he would only accept SYRIZA members who resigned en masse and joined ELAS as individuals, not as a party.
Reversal of Course
Polakis confirmed that the Central Committee’s 6 June decision — which he previously condemned — had effectively been overturned. A new meeting was convened just two days earlier, despite efforts to block it, following the resignation of Sokratis Famellos and amid the acting secretary’s attempts to stall proceedings. With 75 signed mandates from committee members, the session achieved strong quorum and voted to annul the prior decision. The new resolution affirms that SYRIZA will run independently in the next elections — whenever they are held — based on its own program, and will prepare its electoral committee accordingly, aiming to broaden its base as much as possible.
“SYRIZA will now stand autonomously in the next elections, with a clear, defined programmatic framework,” Polakis stated.
Leadership and Next Steps
Polakis stressed that SYRIZA needs a single, unambiguous leader — not collective leadership — and explained that electing a new party president immediately isn’t feasible under the party’s statutes. A congress and ballot-based election are required, and given the summer period and current circumstances, that process cannot be launched right away.
What is possible, however, is the election of a new parliamentary group president by SYRIZA MPs who remain loyal to the party and intend to run on its ticket. “I will seek the presidency of the Parliamentary Group,” Polakis declared. “Whoever is elected to that role will also position themselves as the candidate for party president when the congress and elections eventually take place.”
He concluded by reiterating his ambition: “I never aimed low. I don’t want to lead SYRIZA just to scrape into parliament. I want to lead it to a strong, dignified result.”