Internal Turmoil in Greece's Main Opposition Party SİRİZA: Central Committee Convenes with Low Attendance

The crisis in Greece's main opposition party, SİRİZA (Coalition of the Radical Left), continues to deepen following the resignation of its former leader, Sokratis Famellos. It was observed that attendance was quite low at the party's Central Committee meeting held at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Atina, with only about 50 members physically present in the hall. However, the group close to Pavlos Polakis and Nikos Pappas claims that the meeting reached the required quorum thanks to a large number of members joining online via Zoom. This chaotic scene at the start of the meeting is considered a concrete reflection of the profound structural and political crisis within the party. Whether the legal processes and the legitimacy of the decisions to be taken will be accepted by other party organs currently remains a major uncertainty.

At the root of the crisis lies a serious disagreement regarding who holds the authority to convene the party's key organs following Famellos's resignation. The Polakis and Pappas faction argues that, in line with a demand signed by 73 Central Committee members, the meeting was mandatory according to the party charter and that they initiated the process legitimately. In contrast, Anastasia Sapouna, who is acting as the party's interim general secretary, strongly objects to the process, claiming that procedural rules were not followed. Sapouna stated that procedures were incomplete, proposing that the meeting be postponed to 18 Temmuz and held through the Political Secretariat, but this proposal was not accepted. This opposition is not merely a matter of setting a meeting date; it is a battle for legitimacy that will directly affect the future leadership and main opposition identity of the party.

Among the small number of members physically present at the hotel, the presence of Theofilos Xanthopoulos, deputy head of the parliamentary group, is noteworthy. Xanthopoulos is trying to resolve the crisis by offering a compromise formula that would allow Pavlos Polakis to return to the party and the parliamentary group. His mediation effort is seen as the key to initiating the process of legally and smoothly electing a new leader (parliamentary group leader) to replace Famellos. However, it is reported that in order to implement this compromise proposal, approval must be obtained from the legal and scientific advisory team of the Yunanistan Parlamentosu. The fact that Pavlos Polakis and Nikos Pappas are acting in agreement, along with the presence of former minister Fotis Kouvelis in the field, adds political weight to the search for a compromise.

The balance of power and alliances within the party are also undergoing a significant shift, making the internal conflict even more complex. The positions of figures who were on different sides in the past have changed; in particular, Nikos Pappas separating from Rena Dourou to align with Pavlos Polakis has been a remarkable development. Rena Dourou, on the other hand, is trying to maintain her presence within the party by bringing Elena Akrita to her side in order to strengthen her own front. Speaking to journalists before the meeting, Dourou stated that the party charter does not allow for any bottlenecks during crises, criticizing the creation of "artificial" blockages in the recent period. Apologizing to thousands of members and the Yunan society, Dourou emphasized that collective logic rather than personal ambitions must be prioritized, and that SİRİZA is obliged to fulfill its real opposition duty against Prime Minister Kostas Miçotakis's government.

The most far-reaching consequence of this internal war is its direct connection to former Prime Minister Aleksis Çipras's plans to return to the field. SİRİZA's struggle to determine its new parliamentary group leader will also shape the strategy the party will pursue against the new political initiative Çipras plans to announce. If the decisions taken at today's meeting are not legally recognized by the dissidents, scenarios such as the split of the party or the acceleration of members defecting to Çipras's movement will come to the fore. This fragmentation in the left wing of Greek politics emerges as a factor strengthening the hand of the Yeni Demokrasa (YDP) government in the country. As a result, SİRİZA must achieve a rapid and permanent internal compromise in order to maintain its institutional legitimacy and prove its existence in future elections.