Socrates Famellos Sokratis Famellos dreams of a joint ticket with the ELAS party of Alexis Tsipras.
As if living on another planet, speaking at a forum, he essentially laid his cards on the table regarding the future of the left.
On the burning question of whether there will be a joint ticket between SYRIZA and the newly formed Greek Left Alliance led by Alexis Tsipras, the current occupant of Koumoundourou reiterated that from the very moment he took office as president, he had spoken of a united ticket of the Left, explaining that SYRIZA made an absolutely clear decision at the recent Central Committee meeting, even though a storm has been stirred up by its decisions.
As soon as various figures in the political arena heard him, they immediately muttered that the president of SYRIZA likely suffers from political… autism and is acting as if he doesn’t understand what’s going on.
Furthermore, they wondered if Famellos had asked Alexis Tsipras if he wanted him and his… party as well.
Assessing the former prime minister’s new venture, S. Famellos decided “to view it positively, to support it comradely, and made it clear that any confrontation with him would constitute a historical and strategic mistake.”
As if from another planet, he says that SYRIZA wants to be the… catalyst in the reconstruction of the progressive camp, so that a convincing response can finally be given to the “Mitsotakis regime.”
When, however, the discussion gets down to the nitty-gritty of the elections, Mr. Famellos insists that there must be a single ticket, conveying the pressure he is under from the grassroots.
Of course, behind these statements lies a deeper anxiety about political survival, which he himself attempted to allay by categorically rejecting any notion of dissolving SYRIZA.
The party, he argued, claims the continuity of the Left’s ideas, trying to balance its own historical weight against a murky future of alliances.
Somewhere in this picture, however, comes into focus the relationship with Alexis Tsipras himself, a relationship that appears to be walking a tightrope.
It is striking how Mr. Famellos admits that his dialogue with the former president takes place mainly through public statements. Although he assures us that their personal and political relationship remains very good, the phrase “that’s not how dialogue works” reveals a communicative distance, perhaps an inevitable strategic reserve on both sides.
Alexis Tsipras appears to be keeping his cards close to his chest regarding his own party, while Koumoundourou is trying to “embrace” him politically. This is a peculiar political tango, where no one wants to take the wrong step that would provoke the wrath of any voters.
This delicate balance becomes even more explosive when voices within SYRIZA, such as that of Pavlos Polakis, who operate with an ultimatum mentality, demanding a “white smoke” signal and an agreement with Tsipras within ten days.
Famellos’s response here was blunt, aiming to immediately put a stop to the internal squabbling. He stated his commitment to the Central Committee’s decision, emphasizing that there is no Plan B, implying that some had been defeated at the last Central Committee meeting and indirectly throwing down the gauntlet to them.
As if he understood nothing, he even called on his comrades to show the necessary respect for collective decisions and to work toward their implementation, sending a resounding message of discipline.
Polakis has actually turned out to be right
It is well known that we have experienced many surreal moments on the Left in the past, but what we have been witnessing lately with the decline of the so-called “Tsipras-Mellis” Left surpasses anything that has come before.
Political observers believe that developments have now reached an unexpected point, acknowledging that ultimately, even Pavlos Polakis, with his very… distinctive style, is absolutely right.
In this explosive climate, Pavlos Polakis decided to issue a tough ten-day ultimatum to the leadership, which has begun to tick. With this move during a television interview—in which the caption read “SYRIZA MP,” presumably to… get under the skin of Socrates Famellos, who expelled him— he managed to capture with absolute precision the anger, disappointment, and bewilderment of the party’s grassroots, who are watching the party they supported turn into a political satellite.
The MP from Chania openly argued that behind the official, vague announcements lies a secret agreement, which no one in the leadership has the political courage to admit publicly to members and voters.
P. Polakis’s logic, however strange it may seem to those accustomed to the diplomatic balancing acts of Koumoundourou, is this time politically uncompromising and unwavering.
His argument is simple, but at the same time disarming, as there is no historical precedent in world history for a sitting party president to declare support for another directly competing political formation.
The paradox becomes even more striking when one considers that at exactly the same time, top officials of the Hellenic Police, such as Theoni Kufonikolakou, are categorically ruling out any scenario of future cooperation.It is no coincidence that the issue of Famellos’s leadership and competence is now being openly raised, beyond Polakis, by heavyweights such as Nikos Pappas and Rena Dourou.
