In the context of the ongoing debate surrounding SYRIZA’s relations with the Hellenic Police as well as internal party pressure on the leadership from the minority, today’s meeting of the Parliamentary Group takes on increased significance.
According to reports, Socrates Famellos is expected to propose changes to key party positions, with Press Secretary Kostas Zachariadis and Parliamentary Spokesperson Nikos Pappas among those who may be replaced.
Formally, the meeting is being held to provide an update on the Constitutional Revision Committee, which has already begun its work. However, behind the scenes, the focus is on the dynamics surrounding the internal balance of power at the party headquarters, as well as pressure from the minority faction on the party president to adopt a clearer stance and align more closely with Alexis Tsipras.
Changes Causing Turmoil
The same sources report that the planned changes concern key party positions, with an emphasis on the roles of Kostas Zachariadis and Nikos Pappas.
The case of Nikos Pappas is considered particularly sensitive, as he is among the party officials—along with Pavlos Polakis and Rena Dourou—who are seeking clarification regarding the Central Committee’s decisions. This group is reportedly pushing for an immediate cooperation agreement “on equal terms” with Alexis Tsipras, creating heightened internal party tension.
Polakis’s Absence and Messages to the Parliamentary Group
Pavlos Polakis, now an independent MP, is not expected to attend the meeting. Shortly before it began, however, he sent a new message to SYRIZA MPs, calling on them to clarify “who they will side with and who they will leave behind.”
His intervention intensifies the already tense internal party climate, at a time when the party leadership is attempting to manage the “transition” following the Central Committee’s decisions and pressure for a clearer stance against Tsipras’s political project.
Of the 24 members of parliament, the following are absent so far: Giorgos Karameros, Miltos Zamparas, Alexandros Meikopoulos, Nina Kasimati, Katerina Notopoulou, Marina Kontouli, and Giorgos Papaeliou are currently absent; the latter is participating in a parliamentary committee meeting.
