The Political Secretariat of SYRIZA convened on Monday, 13 July 2026, amid mounting internal tensions following the resignation of Sokratis Famellos from the party’s presidency. The meeting — held at the party’s headquarters on Koumoundourou Street in Athens — aims to define the timeline and procedures for electing a new party leadership, as well as outline next steps ahead of the upcoming national elections.
Senior figures including Pavlos Polakis and Rina Dourou arrived at the headquarters shortly after 3 p.m., joining other top party officials such as Nikos Pappas. Later this week, SYRIZA’s Parliamentary Group is also expected to meet to elect its new leader — the person who will represent the party in the Hellenic Parliament.
Shortly before stepping down, Panos Lambrinidis-Stachtos, outgoing Secretary of SYRIZA’s Youth Wing, called for a membership-wide referendum. He urged the party not to run independently in the upcoming parliamentary elections and instead support a unified left-wing electoral list led by Alexis Tsipras.
‘No room for fragmentation’
Speaking at the meeting, Lambrinidis-Stachtos emphasized the need for political unity ahead of the elections: “Today, Greek society needs a major, broad-based political force capable of reorganizing the two main ideological blocs — the right and the left. In this battle, no one can be spared. There is no space for fragmentation, for personal strategies, or for minorities imposing their views on majorities through sheer will.”
He proposed activating Articles 26 and 27 of SYRIZA’s statutes to trigger a binding referendum among members. The question to be put to voters would be whether SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance should refrain from running its own ballot and instead back the electoral list headed by Alexis Tsipras — a list he described as uniting the majority of Greece’s left-wing and democratic citizens.
“We are taking a step back — not out of fear, but to gain momentum,” he said. “Our goal is to prevent a political vacuum the day after the elections and to mount a credible response to the Mitsotakis government and New Democracy.”
Lambrinidis-Stachtos concluded by calling on SYRIZA members and officials to support the referendum proposal both during the current Political Secretariat session and at the upcoming Central Committee meeting.
Earlier the same day, Symeon Kedikoglou announced his resignation as SYRIZA MP — the latest in a series of departures that have intensified scrutiny over the party’s future direction.