SYRIZA president Sokratis Famellos resigns, party splits into two camps ahead of Central Committee showdown

Resignation and its causes

Sokratis Famellos announced his resignation from the presidency of SYRIZA Progressive Alliance on the evening of 9 July 2026, after a meeting with close associates at party headquarters. He said he could no longer serve "a different political plan" and wanted to avoid a new split on the left. The decision came weeks after the party's Central Committee voted to support the Greek Left Alliance (ELAS) founded by former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, a move that failed to halt an exodus of members and MPs to the new formation.

I resign from the presidency of SYRIZA Progressive Alliance. I do not resign from Parliament. I do not resign from SYRIZA-PS. I honour the popular mandate, I believe in the Left and in political action.

Famellos remains an MP and party member. His resignation statement blamed internal sabotage and repeated mistakes since 2023, while also criticising PASOK, the New Left, and Tsipras's ELAS for refusing to cooperate on a progressive convergence.

Factions and the battle for succession

Within hours of the resignation, two separate meetings confirmed the party had split into distinct camps. One gathered Nikos Pappas, Rena Dourou, Yiannis Boulekos and party machinery officials; the other brought together Pavlos Polakis, Tryfonas Alexiadis, Giorgos Panagiotopoulos and their allies. Both sides agree SYRIZA must contest the next national election autonomously, but they differ on the leadership model and immediate next steps.

Pappas's circle is floating a collective leadership formula with broad participation, while Dourou is being urged to consider a presidential bid. Many officials believe Pappas and Dourou will soon have to coordinate, as no stable administration can emerge without a minimum of alignment between the two. Polakis, who had publicly demanded Famellos's resignation, retains strong support among the party base and is seen as the only figure who could pull SYRIZA back into parliament, according to some members.

The Central Committee dispute

The party's Central Committee is scheduled to meet on Saturday 11 July at the Wyndham Athens hotel. The session was originally called after Polakis and Pappas gathered enough signatures to challenge Famellos. Following the resignation, a debate erupted over whether the meeting should go ahead. Some argued that without a president the body cannot convene and that the Political Secretariat should meet first, possibly as early as Friday 10 July.

There is no postponement of the Central Committee!!! Now that Famellos rightly resigned, as I had requested, its meeting is even more necessary!! The Central Committee was convened at the request of its members and no one can postpone it.

The hours are critical. The party must move forward collectively. No one has the authority to postpone the central committee. No one will deprive the members of the right and obligation to take a position.

Both Polakis and Pappas insist the meeting must proceed, turning the succession battle into a fight over the legitimacy of the party's next moves.

What comes next

According to party statutes, a process to elect a new president from the membership base must begin promptly. However, the party's sharp decline in opinion polls makes such a ballot problematic. Reports also suggest a wave of resignations from MPs and Central Committee members is imminent, deepening the organisational crisis. The status of the parliamentary group remains unclear, as Famellos has not yet sent a letter of resignation as its president to the speaker of parliament.

The coming days will determine whether SYRIZA can hold together or whether the centrifugal pull of ELAS and internal rivalries will accelerate its fragmentation.