Independent course, programmatic dialogue with parties and movements of the broader progressive space, but certainly not a reunion and in the immediate future with SYRIZA Progressive Alliance decided after a two-day intense internal party processes the Central Committee of New Left, deepening even more the political isolation of Koumoundourou.

Although the approval of Luka Katseli as a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic in late 2024 showed the way for the re-convergence of former and current “comrades” of the once “united Syriza”, however wounds and traumas before and after the “Kasselakis era” still remain open and painful, with the supreme governing body of the New Left finally taking its time and however not final and positive decisions towards Koumoundourou.

Despite the expectations cultivated by the latter, expectations that even touched on the formation of a joint parliamentary group between SYRIZA and New Left in the coming period, the resistance put up in recent days by both the party secretary, Gavriel Sakellaridis, and members of the “Umbrella”, led by Euclid Tsakalotos were confirmed in the most negative development for Koumoundourou, which rushed in recent days on the one hand to propose 10+1 axes as the start of the programmatic dialogue between the progressive forces, but also to announce the holding of a Congress at the end of May, where members of the SYRIZA PS leadership team were preparing the ground for a festive return even to the parliamentary benches of the opposition, in the face of the possibility of the “cute” of current New Left MPs.

The background

However, as reported by protothema.gr, the climate has been particularly tense since the day before yesterday, when the work of the Central Committee of the New Left began, as against the “road map” proposed by the President of the New Left, Alexis Haritsis with a horizon of cooperation with SYRIZA, the party’s Secretary, Gavriel Sakellaridis, appeared with his own framework, reaching the brink of splitting.

It should be noted that Sakellarides, like Euclid Tsakalotos, had described as a “caricature” the formation of a “People’s Front” along the lines of France, if only the New Left and SYRIZA PS participated in it.

With two contradictory texts filed by the two leading figures of the party, last Saturday night the phones were “on fire”, in order to follow on the one hand the fire-fighting initiative of Iliopoulos – Karpozilou and on the other hand a working group with the participation of all “tribes” of the party, in order to find common ground and avoid a new split of the tested (electorally and demographically) party. In this way, the one and final text of the political decision of the New Left Central Committee (which was passed yesterday by a majority with about 10-15 white votes) finally secured the unity of the party, but rejects any joint parliamentary group with SYRIZA PS, as well as electoral partnership with it under pressure.

On the contrary, the New Left favors a two-month five-point programmatic dialogue, ending with its congress at the end of June, so that it will reportedly have “cleared the landscape in SYRIZA,” as some of its cadres wish.

The “recording” of Tsakalotos

Although both “unionists” and “anti-Unionists” went into the throes of formulating a joint political decision text yesterday, the button of blowing up the bridges between SYRIZA and the New Left was pressed with a bang by former minister and MP, Euclid Tsakalotos, as he proposed an amendment to the decision text, which was passed with 80 in favour and 57 against. Except that Tsakalotos’ amendment, which some of his comrades say “strictly and only satisfied his inner-party audience”, describes how a “unilateral cooperation” is not promotional for the Popular Front, meaning… SYRIZA.

Thus, the scenario of a Koumoundourou-Patissia coalition in the coming months has been postponed indefinitely, if it does not end up in the Kalends for good, given that forces within both parties are strongly resisting a possible reunion. For the more cool-headed, the scenario of a SYRIZA PS-New Left unification “requires a preliminary work”, although it remains alive, although for Patision executives “more steps and fewer accomplishments” are needed, i.e. more depth in the approach on the part of SYRIZA PS executives and primarily its leadership.

For the New Left, moreover, a certain “success story” of repatriation would count partly in favour of the new leadership team of Koumoundourou, but “would not create sparks of enthusiasm”, as experienced members of the party commented, wanting to explain that more massive processes of restarting the progressive space as a whole are needed.

In this perspective, the “Popular Front” still holds out hope, if others, such as Kosmos of Petros Kokkalis, for example, respond to the call of Patision, “Pratto” by Nikos Kotzias, etc., although they all advocate behind the scenes the inability of the existing progressive parties to effectively “intercept” the Eleftherias Alliance of Zoe Konstantopoulou.

“There is an elephant in the room” and it can only be a “total restart” of the progressive space, as described by insiders in the broader space, only this requires a popular leader, more time and multiple voters than the polling records of SYRIZA, New Left and other mass parties, conditions that partly shape “the playing field in favor of Zoe (Konstantopoulou)“, as her erstwhile “comrades” conclude.