In one of his last interviews, speaking about the inclusion of Aris Spiliotopoulos in his staff, which caused new shocks in SYRIZA, Mr. Kasselakis said that he does not need a communicator and that he draws up his personal communication strategy.
The truth
Like many other things that Mr. Kasselakis says, this was not true either. The reality is that a team of communications analysts is already working for the leader of SYRIZA, among them Allilomis, Dimakis, etc., party members are talking about cooperation with Yiannis Loulis, while Aris Spiliotopoulos has now joined the staff as a focus analyst group.
The suggestion of the communication experts is the distance from SYRIZA and the positions of the Left, which in the staff of Mr. Kasselakis calculate that they have fewer and fewer supporters in Greek society. Approaching and highlighting views compatible with the majority of public opinion, such as the pro-American stance or the reference to the removal of the permanency of civil servants, even the phone call of support to the member of the N.D. Giannis Kallianos, who accuses the doctors of being responsible for his father’s death.
The suggestion of the communication experts is the over-promotion of “I” and the transfer of the party and the executives of the period 2015-2019 to second or even to… no plan at all. Hyperactivity on social media, populism, commitments and promises without response…
Tsipras
Even the noble attacks against Alexis Tsipras, like the one he unleashed yesterday, when he said that Alexis Tsipras had all the support he needed in June 2023, that Kasselakis himself went and found him and told him that he is on his side to change everything, but he did nothing, but decided to resign.
Stefanos Kasselakis, in contrast to the majority of the SYRIZA executives, believes – and does not hide it – that Alexis Tsipras should be present, but without an active role and plans to return to active action. And he constantly sends him messages that if he tries to return to politics, then he will find him in front of him. He wants Tsipras in the corner of the frame, with him at the center, until the European elections.
Mr. Kasselakis does not care if he is criticized negatively as a representative of “hybrid” or “apolitical” populism, if he is compared to Donald Trump, if he is accused of not knowing the issues he is talking about, as was done with the proposal of 5% per year of GDP in Education, when it is already 5.8%. He considers and really believes that in order to survive the battle of the European elections, the constant references to his honesty and authenticity, the clear distances from SYRIZA and Alexis Tsipras, the denunciation speech against the government and the “one against all” tactic, i.e. to show that he is not only against the government, but also against PASOK and the New Left, i.e. the potential allies of SYRIZA.
Target
His staff believe that if he comes second in the European elections with a percentage of over 17%, then he will have already achieved a double major goal. He will have removed Alexis Tsipras and Nikos Androulakis from the frame and will occupy the position of the main opponent of Kyriakos Mitsotakis towards the national elections of 2027, putting an end – so say his people – to the current scenario of the dominant prime minister without a main opponent.
And reports say he is considering consolidating that image as Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ main rival by holding a SYRIZA re-establishment conference immediately after the European elections, where everything will be put to a vote. From the name and logo of the party to the ideological position, the political line and the basic positions.
And it should be mentioned that there are many SYRIZA executives, at a medium level as well as at a high level, who have already left Alexis Tsipras and the party, following the new leader. Not because they agree with him on everything, but because they see in him a perspective, even if vague, that they do not see in Alexis Tsipras or the SYRIZA party.
Pre-election “silence”, post-election “exit”
Alexis Tsipras displeased many of his supporters with his participation in the presentation of the party’s European ballot. However, he tried to avoid it by saying in his telephone communication with Stefanos Kasselakis that he was abroad (s.s.: he was in Brussels), but his successor “disarmed” him, telling him that he would postpone the event to do it whenever return to Athens, as he did.
Now, from Amalias Street, which is also Mr. Tsipras’s office at the heights of the Bodosakei Mansion, it is said that Mr. Tsipras is not going to participate in a party event again until the European elections because he also wants to be at a distance from the Stefanos Kasselakis.
They agree
The remarkable thing is that Stefanos Kasselakis and Alexis Tsipras consider SYRIZA a burnt paper and a thing of the past and do not include the party in their future plans, neither one nor the other. We have said enough about Mr. Kasselakis, as far as Alexis Tsipras is concerned, he is planning his return after the European elections, with specific moves, so that he becomes the face of the reorganization of the center-left that will face off against the center-right of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. SYRIZA does not fit into these plans, neither does Stefanos Kasselakis. That is why, if the percentage that Mr. Kasselakis will get in the European elections is such that it allows him to continue in the political life of the country, then Mr. Tsipras and his supporters are preparing to leave SYRIZA, immediately after the European elections.
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