New SYRIZA leader aims for party overhaul

New SYRIZA leader Sokratis Famellos is moving forward with a makeover of his left-wing party in an effort to transform it into what he described on Thursday as "the genuine opposition the country needs."

In addressing SYRIZA's recent loss of its status as the official opposition to PASOK, following the defection of several MPs, Famellos also aims to solidify the support of the 27 remaining lawmakers.

During his speech in Parliament on Thursday, he directed criticism at former president Stefanos Kasselakis (now leader of the splinter party Movement for Democracy) and the lawmakers who left the party to become independents. "No matter how hard they've tried to shrink us, no matter how many bankrupt arguments they've come up with - from the [deadly 2018 fire in] Mati to the capital controls (of June 2015) and the [2015 bailout] referendum - SYRIZA endures, is strong,...