SYRIZA leader Famellos removes top spokespersons in reshuffle amid pressure from Tsipras’s new party
SYRIZA president Sokratis Famellos removed parliamentary spokesperson Nikos Pappas and press spokesperson Kostas Zachariadis on Tuesday, installing Theofilos Xanthopoulos, Kostas Barkas and Christos Giannoulis in their roles as the party grapples with internal dissent over relations with Alexis Tsipras’s new ELAS party.
Internal clash over Tsipras’s new party
The backdrop to the reshuffle is the continuing internal debate on how SYRIZA should relate to the Greek Left Coalition (ELAS), the new party formed by former prime minister and SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras. A minority bloc inside the parliamentary group, led by Nikos Pappas, Pavlos Polakis and Rena Dourou, has been pressing for a clearer, equal-terms cooperation agreement with Tsipras, while the party leadership under Famellos has signalled support for ELAS without fully spelling out the operational details.
Pappas had publicly voiced objections in recent days, linking his criticism to Tsipras’s statement that “the historical cycle of SYRIZA has closed.” Speaking on Parapolitika 90.1 FM on Monday, he said the party’s decision to back ELAS had gaps and was not implementable, and called for an immediate meeting of the Political Secretariat.
There is no issue of censure against Sokratis Famellos, but there is a great need for the president of SYRIZA to explain how he perceives his role from now on.
The reshuffle
At the closed session of the parliamentary group on 16 June, Famellos announced that Kostas Barkas (MP for Preveza) and Theofilos Xanthopoulos (MP for Drama) would take over as parliamentary spokespersons, replacing Nikos Pappas. At the same time, Kostas Zachariadis was removed as party press spokesperson; the Thessaloniki A MP Christos Giannoulis was appointed in his place.
Famellos thanked both Pappas and Zachariadis for their cooperation and contribution. Pappas, speaking immediately after the announcement, said both he and his office would remain at the disposal of the new spokespersons.
Velvet divorce for Zachariadis
The departure of Zachariadis was described by party sources as a consensual, “velvet divorce.” He had been among those arguing for an alignment with Tsipras’s ELAS, and several officials interpret the move as a precursor to his own transfer to the new party, which is currently building its staff and organisational structure.
His replacement, Christos Giannoulis, a lawmaker from Thessaloniki, now becomes the public voice of the party at a moment of heightened internal scrutiny.
Polakis adds pressure
The ousted and now independent MP Pavlos Polakis, expelled earlier from the parliamentary group, did not attend the meeting but sent a sharp message to SYRIZA lawmakers.
Clarify with whom they will go and whom they will leave.
The intervention adds another link to the chain of internal turbulence. Famellos, having already removed Polakis from the group, now appears to be drawing a clear line against dissenters by sidelining Pappas and replacing the press spokesperson.
Broader significance
The reshuffle is widely interpreted as an effort by Famellos to close internal fronts and impose a new, disciplined line after weeks of rumblings. The absent MPs at the session, including Giorgos Karameros, Miltos Zambaras, Alexandros Meikopoulos, Nina Kasimati, Katerina Notopoulou, Marina Kontouli and Giorgos Papailiou (who was attending a parliamentary committee), underline the unease within the 24-member group. While the meeting’s formal agenda covered the Constitutional Revision Committee, the real story was the leadership’s attempt to reassert control amid the gravitational pull of Tsipras’s emerging political project.
