Leaders from SYRIZA, PASOK, the extra-parliamentary Left, and even from the now-defunct ANEL—all of which are encompassed by the “shadow government” of ELAS.
By Ersi Papadaki
Its stigma, which is reminiscent of the ideological and practical… mishmash of the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government, is captured by the definition of the ELAS “shadow government” given by Alexis Tsipras.
Just as he had done during the period 2015–2019, but also after the elections that brought SYRIZA into the position of the official opposition, Mr. Tsipras is attempting to signal an opening toward other political camps and to “reach out to” their respective voters.
However, what he actually achieves is either to use old, worn-out material or to exacerbate the confusion regarding his party’s precise ideological identity and orientation.
Purging the former
Apparently, the majority of the leadership comes from SYRIZA, which is marching with mathematical precision toward dissolution—especially if Mr. Tsipras, despite what he claims through his associates regarding strict selection criteria and procedures, continues the drain of Koumoundourou’s leadership cadre.
However, among the “touches” to the lineup of sector heads, there is no shortage ofreferences to PASOK, while one also encounters officials from Yanis Varoufakis’s MERA25 or even from Panos Kammenos’s long-forgotten ANEL, where the paradox is that after the 2019 elections and the party’s dissolution, most of its members joined SYRIZA, despite the ideological differences they theoretically, at least, had.
Apparently, however, Mr. Tsipras has proceeded with an extensive overhaul of his inner circle of advisers , despite the fact that the ranks of the sector heads and the leadership team of ELAS still include officials who stood by his side during his tenure at Koumoundourou.
The most notable example is that of Michalis Kalogirou, a former minister and director of his office, who was appointed president of the Tsipras Foundation—that is, the think tank associated with ELAS.
At the same time, the responsibility for coordinating the sector heads, in the capacity of a “Minister of State,” lies with Kostas Gavroglou, who previously served as Minister of Education in the Tsipras government. In addition, Giorgos Vassiliadis has been appointed director of the political office of the ELAS president; he had also served as a minister and close associate the former prime minister.
Another former SYRIZA MP is Dionysis Temboneras, who is now the head of the Labor Division at the Hellenic Police, while Mr. Tsipras’s circle of economic and legal advisors includes Fragiskos Koutentakis, Zorzeta Lali, and Yianna Pepe.
Green Party Transfers
PASOK-affiliated officials include Marinos Skandamis —who in fact recently left the Harilaou Trikoupi headquarters—as head of the Citizen Protection sector, the deputy head of the Health sector Giorgos Boulbasakos, the deputy head of the Finance Department George Pappas, the head of the Social Policy sector Marizeta Antonopoulou , and Argyris Beteniotis, son of former PASOK minister Manolis Beteniotis, as Deputy Head of the Development and Trade Sector.
Within the broader PASOK sphere and with trade union ties to the Athens Bar Association, Dimitris Lyritsis and Christina Tsagli also belong to this circle. Additionally, the deputy head of the Citizen Protection sector Antonis Saoulidis, who was among the first officials to leave PASOK and join ELAS.
Similarly, from the extra-parliamentary Left comes the head of the Health Department Spyros Dritsas, while the parliamentary candidate for MERA25 was the agricultural union leader and current ELAS Head of Agricultural Development Thomas Moschos. Finally, the deputy head of the Labor sector, Nektaria Angelaki, comes from ANEL .
