Former minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou quits SYRIZA, declaring she cannot run against Alexis Tsipras's new party

Resignation announcement

Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, a former minister and SYRIZA member, announced her departure from the party on 29 June 2026 via a social media post. The move had been widely anticipated after her speech at the party's Central Committee on 6 June, where she openly praised the political initiative of former prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his newly formed party, ELAS.

“I cannot imagine that there could be a SYRIZA-PS ballot against Alexis Tsipras and ELAS.”

Criticism of SYRIZA's course

In her resignation statement, Xenogiannakopoulou acknowledged that after the election of Socrates Famellos as SYRIZA leader, there was a serious effort to bring together progressive and left forces. However, she argued that this effort did not receive the necessary response a year ago and was ultimately overtaken by political developments and pressing social needs.

“In critical moments there is no room for pretextual compromise positions. Now is the time for clear solutions and brave oversteps.”

Alignment with Tsipras's ELAS

Xenogiannakopoulou made clear that her political future lies with Tsipras's ELAS, which she described as offering an outlet and hope for the progressive and left world. She stressed that the formation of ELAS opens the prospect of a progressive government and that she could not remain in a party that might field candidates against it.

She noted that since 2018 she has tried to function institutionally, collectively, and synthetically in government, parliament, and the party, but that the current moment demands a different alignment.

Call for a unified progressive pole

The departing MP concluded her statement with a call for a strong progressive-left pole that would once again express a majority current of political and social change. Her resignation is the latest in a series of defections from SYRIZA to ELAS, deepening the fragmentation of Greece's centre-left opposition.