Greece: Sokratis Famellos, new president of the left Syriza

Sokratis Famellos, MP and founding member of the left-wing Syriza, was elected Sunday president of this Greek opposition party, which is going through a serious crisis after the ouster of its former leader Stefanos Kasselakis.

Sokratis Famellos, 58, obtained 49.41% of the votes against his main rival Pavlos Polakis, an influential Cretan MP (43.51%). “From Monday we start again with more smiles but also with more strength,” Sokratis Famellos told the media on Sunday afternoon after voting in Thessaloniki, the second Greek city in the north, his electoral constituency.

Outstripped by the Pasok socialists

A moderate and discreet politician, the new president of Syriza was deputy minister of the Environment (2016-2019) in the anti-austerity government of Alexis Tsipras.

When the latter resigned in June 2023 after the defeat of his Syriza party in the European elections, Sokratis Famellos was elected president of the parliamentary group.

A total of 18 deputies left the ranks of Syriza this past year, now the third parliamentary group ahead of the Pasok socialists.

The former president of Syriza, Stefanos Kasselakis, a 36-year-old businessman unknown to the Greek political scene before his election, was in open conflict with deputies and historic party executives. Ousted at the beginning of November, he created a new party on Saturday called “Movement for Democracy”.

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