Following the expulsion of Pavlos Polakis from the parliamentary group of SYRIZA, Socrates Famellos took yet another step with a clear political message, announcing during today’s meeting of the Parliamentary Group the replacement of Nikos Pappas from his position as the party’s Parliamentary Spokesperson.
At the same time, Nikos Zachariadis is parting ways with SYRIZA, as he is stepping down as the party’s press spokesperson through a consensual process. His position is being taken over by Christos Giannoulis.
The position previously held by N. Pappas is being taken over by Theophilos Xanthopoulos and Kostas Barkas, in a decision that comes amid a period of intense internal party friction, as Nikos Pappas has repeatedly expressed his disagreementwith the political choices and maneuvers of the president of SYRIZA.
His statements on “Parapolitika 90.1,” where, although he clarified that “there is no issue of censure against Socrates Famellos,” he made clear jabs at the party leadership, emphasizing that “there is a great need for him to explain how he perceives his role from here on out.”
At the same time, he cited the recent statement by Alexis Tsipras, who spoke of the “closure of SYRIZA’s historical cycle,” noting that this statement was made shortly after Sokratis Famellos’s position in favor of supporting the Hellenic Police Force (EL.AS.) “No one can pretend not to understand,” he said pointedly.
Nikos Pappas also expressed reservations about the specific party line, arguing that SYRIZA’s position on supporting the Hellenic Police has gaps and does not appear to be feasible. At the same time, he called for the immediate convening of the Political Secretariat, in order to provide a full briefing on the progress of political contacts and internal party processes.
