"The rupture was inevitable; many times SYRIZA appeared with a bilingualism, losing both its credibility and a large part of the electorate that did not choose it in the recent parliamentary elections", said Petis Perka, now independent member of parliament but formerly of SYRIZA in speaking to the Thessaloniki radio station Status 107.7 of the opposition party.
Asked to comment on the position of the president of SYRIZA that he is setting the bar at 17% for the European elections, she noted: "Now, what can I say? Mr Kasselakis told us that he was the only one who could beat Mr Mitsotakis. And now he puts the bar at 17%. It made it more realistic because he sees exactly the polls that show a trend.
"The party must quickly – I say, I am in pain, nor do I have the intention of turning to the channels to unleash mudras, we will look at it the next day. I would say it should be the divorce, let him follow the policy that this part wants, we can't, at least I can't, and we will make another policy as we know very well."
Asked about the future of SYRIZA, the movements of the people who left, and the possibility of cooperation with Achtsioglou and her team in the event that - as everything seems to be - she leaves, Peti Perka responds positively.
"We don't discuss that. We are still together. Everyone has their time and, of course, their opinion. Some people say I'll fight it from the inside—everyone on their own leaves. Look, I had yet to decide to leave so quickly, either.
"It was only after the Central Committee, from the time Mr. Kasselakis was elected and he started making statements, or with the absolute political vacuum in the pre-election campaign, that I understood that something was not right.
"However, there comes a time when every person says so far and does not provide."
The now-independent member of parliament, responding then to whether the number "10" will be made to form a parliamentary group led by Mrs Effie Achtsioglou, she said: "We will let time tell. I appreciate that this possibility exists."
"It is serious parliamentary representation with a parliamentary group; it is only some things, and the new venture would help a lot. We saw it on the way to the Polytechnic, this block, let's say ours that we left recently, was the most crowded with many people, very anxious about what we will do the next day. Therefore, the future is open and for collaborations."
In the journalistic remark that the conclusion drawn is that it is very likely that she will join the team of Mrs. Achtsioglou, Peti Perka underlined:
"But what do you say now? I supported Achtsioglou on the second Sunday. And many of us, alas! These are our comrades; with them, we marched. That one leaves earlier, another later, does not exist...that is obvious. It is a given that whoever leaves, with this reasoning, because in any other case, there is no leakage from the parliamentary group or from the party, obviously we will all be together, and we will come to an agreement."
SYRIZA-PA youth group in Thessaloniki announces departure from the party
The youth group of main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance in Thessaloniki on Sunday announced its departure from the party, saying that the speech given by party leader Stefanos Kasselakis to the Central Committee was "divisive" and "confirmed the authoritarian model by which the new leadership operates, where only one opinion, that of the president, prevails."
Kasselakis: No one has the right to play games with the patience and concerns of SYRIZA's grassroots
"I respect the party a great deal," main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Stefanos Kasselakis said on Monday, while answering callers' questions during the live radio show "Allegro Ma Me Tropo" presented by Evgenia Loupaki on the radio station "Sto Kokkino 105.5".
If he did not respect the party, Kasselakis added, he would not respect Alexis Tsipras who had done him the honour of placing him on the state deputy list. Precisely because he did respect the party, Kasselakis said, he had extended a hand of friendship to all, including his rivals, from the first day.
"I invited Mrs Achtsioglou to my office in Parliament and offered her any role she wished. When I read that things were said, such as 'there is no room for coexistence with the current leadership group, I think to myself that they would have been the leadership group if they had accepted by invitation," he said.
SYRIZA-PA's leader added that there was no "inner circle" and that he had repeatedly said that the "second is first" and invited his opponents to join him and become the leadership team.
Asked about the possibility that the group of "six plus six" will leave the party, Kasselakis replied that no one, including himself, had the right to "play games and test the patience and concern of SYRIZA's grassroots. If they are going to make a decision they should make it now...."
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