Stefanos Kasselakis wins Syriza leadership in the second round of voting.
Effie Achtsioglou, his main opponent, has already conceded with Kassalakis leading 57-43 percent with three-quarters of the vote counted.
Stefanos Kasselakis secured the position of leader for Greece's primary opposition party, SYRIZA, in a recent election. Based on the initial vote count, he managed to gain about 57 percent of the votes, while his rival Efi Achtsioglou, a former labor minister, received approximately 43 percent. This runoff election followed Kasselakis' first-place finish among five candidates in the initial vote held a week earlier. While his victory is expected to bring significant changes to the leftist party and Greek politics, it may not necessarily lead to a satisfying outcome or the right reasons.
The fact that Kasselakis had a viable chance of becoming SYRIZA's leader indicates more about the state of the party and the mindset of its supporters than it does about his qualifications.
SYRIZA had suffered four consecutive electoral defeats, including two in the recent summer elections, which had led to concerns about the party's relevance and a sense of hopelessness among its voters. The departure of Alexis Tsipras, the leader who had taken SYRIZA from a fringe party to a position of power through his strong connection with voters and political intuition (though this had waned in recent years), was inevitable.
However, Tsipras' departure also left the party vulnerable to internal conflicts and the possibility of various factions splitting from SYRIZA. Efi Achtsioglou, a former labor minister, represented both continuity and change, having served in Tsipras' cabinet and being one of the party's prominent members. Nonetheless, her vision for the party's future was unclear, her communication was inconsistent, and there were suspicions within the party that she had played a role in Tsipras' departure, a claim she vehemently denied.
The other candidates did not offer compelling alternatives. Consequently, Kasselakis emerged from relative obscurity into an environment where some SYRIZA members were searching for a different option. His status as an outsider, untouched by SYRIZA's internal politics, and his ability to present himself as an anti-establishment candidate despite his educational and professional background in the US and at Goldman Sachs, worked to his advantage.
Kasselakis ran a straightforward campaign focused on key messages such as tackling corruption and improving justice. He relied heavily on social media, using numerous short videos to directly engage with voters and tour the country, meeting ordinary citizens. However, he provided minimal details about his political ideology or policy plans, which appealed to SYRIZA voters who prioritized electability over specific values.
Some SYRIZA officials had suggested that the party should first hold a conference to determine its political direction after consecutive electoral losses and then select a leader who aligns with those principles. However, many in the party were eager to move past the summer's electoral setbacks quickly and prevent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis from solidifying his position.
This created the impression that the primary goal of the leadership election was to choose a candidate capable of challenging Mitsotakis on his own terms. Kasselakis positioned himself as more educated, talented, and successful than the Greek Prime Minister. His photogenic appearance and ease in front of the camera allowed him to demonstrate that he could match Mitsotakis in terms of communication, which had been one of Mitsotakis' strengths since coming to power.
Kasselakis made a bold move by revealing his homosexuality in his first campaign video, challenging the macho atmosphere of Greek politics. However, it's worth noting that Achtsioglou was also striving to become the first female leader of a major opposition party in Greece. Despite discussing his sexuality, Kasselakis remained relatively enigmatic, allowing SYRIZA members who voted for him to project their hopes and desires onto him, almost as a form of catharsis after the party's challenging years in power and subsequent disappointments in opposition.
Thus, Stefanos Kasselakis, a figure who emerged in SYRIZA's political landscape relatively recently, now leads Greece's primary opposition party. Yet, little is known about him beyond the carefully curated social media presence and limited public appearances.
This situation is unprecedented in Greek politics and may indicate something about the state of the country's political arena. It could reflect a perception among opposition supporters that the current government benefits significantly from effective public relations and a media landscape skewed in its favor. As a result, they may believe that their best chance of removing Mitsotakis from power is to adopt a similar approach: selecting a charismatic leader who can engage with voters and attract media attention, even if the leader's policy agenda remains unclear.
However, before challenging Mitsotakis, SYRIZA's new leader will need to address the internal divisions within the party. While his candidacy has energized many grassroots members, it has also exacerbated existing splits within SYRIZA. Some senior figures supported Kasselakis despite his lack of roots in left-wing politics and within the SYRIZA organization.
The 35-year-old was born in the affluent northern Athens suburb of Maroussi and went to the US when he was 14 after getting a full scholarship to the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, an exclusive boarding school that was founded shortly after the American Revolution. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and a Bachelor of Arts in international studies.
While still a student, he worked as a volunteer on the staff of then-Senator Joe Biden during the 2008 presidential campaign.
In 2009, at age 21, he began working at Goldman Sachs. Far from developing a passion for finance, Kasselakis said he saw firsthand “how much arrogance money brings.” Three years later, after securing a loan with a personal guarantee, he began investing in the shipping industry.
