The SYRIZA leadership has launched a sharp, direct critique against former party president Sokratis Famellos following his departure from the party and his decision to retain his parliamentary seat. The move intensifies an already heated political rift, with sources close to the party’s headquarters—commonly referred to as Koumoundourou—rejecting Famellos’s claim that SYRIZA had reached a political dead end under its current leadership. Instead, they turn the accusation back on him, asserting that it was Famellos himself, during his tenure as president, who led the party into a political impasse.
‘He Was the Dead End’
‘He himself was the dead end,’ sources stated pointedly, assigning him full responsibility for the party’s trajectory. Particular emphasis is placed on Famellos’s choice to become independent without relinquishing his parliamentary mandate—a decision SYRIZA officials argue contradicts the very principles he invokes: the Left, collectivity, solidarity, and unity.
According to these sources, a parliamentary seat is not a personal political asset but rather tied to SYRIZA’s programme, political vision, and the public trust expressed through the party’s ballot list. They recall past instances where senior members who left the party voluntarily surrendered their seats—a practice Famellos did not follow. Moreover, they say they cannot recall another case in which a party president exited their political organisation while retaining their parliamentary mandate—an act they describe as both politically and ethically contradictory.
Unity and Contradiction
Koumoundourou also labels Famellos’s invocation of ‘unity’ as inconsistent, calling his resignation a ‘clearly divisive act.’ They stress that notions of collectivity and unity are incompatible with holding onto a parliamentary seat after formally leaving the party. Sources further note that Famellos had previously insisted—on multiple occasions—on strict adherence to the Code of Ethics regarding MPs becoming independent, implicitly suggesting he now fails to uphold the same standards.
SYRIZA officials conclude that Famellos ‘never understood the difference between the responsibilities of an MP and those of a party president,’ ending their statement with the word ‘shame’—one of the harshest public rebukes issued by Koumoundourou against its former leader.