Alexis Tsipras

Main opposition SYRIZA expects that at least 55,000 members will take part in the Sunday ballot to elect a new leader, which is, however, a far cry from the 152,193 in May 2022, when former leader Alexis Tsipras won the race without a rival for the presidency.

However, the candidacy of outsider Stefanos Kasselakis has apparently revitalized the process. 

SYRIZA lawmaker Efi Achtsioglou, considered by analysts as one of the front-runners to succeed Alexis Tsipras as the leader of the leftist opposition party, spoke to Kathimerini about her campaign, the criticism she has received from within SYRIZA, and the way the party will operate if she is elected president.

It's been less than three months since ruling New Democracy confirmed its electoral triumph in May in a second national election, on June 25, that saw it win well over double the share of the vote that second-placed SYRIZA received - 40.56% to 17.83%.

Candidates running for the leadership of the main opposition SYRIZA party have hit the campaign trail ahead of the leftist party's congress on September 2 and the elections for a new president on September 10.

There is something very paradoxical happening at the moment. There is no opposition to the government. It is something that has not happened in our post-war history. Even when late conservative premier Konstantinos Karamanlis was powerful and dominant there was some rival power, if not as an immediate alternative, as a prospect on the horizon. Now there is absolutely nothing.

Main opposition party SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance on Monday officially announced the launch of the campaign for the election of a new party leader, scheduled to be held on September 10.

Two main pre-electoral mottos are "On September 10, I participate" and "Tomorrow begins with us", it was noted in the party announcement.

Efi Achtsioglou, the former social security minister and considered the front-runner in the race to succeed Alexis Tsipras as SYRIZA leader, has proposed that not only party members but also party supporters should be allowed to participate in the September 10 ballot.

The contest for a new leader of the left-wing SYRIZA party has already produced realignments among the party's several factions and they are probably not over yet.

In a tense atmosphere marked by political and occasionally personal altercations, Greek lawmakers unanimously decided on Tuesday to accept the request of the prosecuting authority and lift the parliamentary immunity of Rena Dourou.

Nikos Pappas, who served as the minister of digital policy, telecommunications, and media from November 2016 to July 2019, on Saturday announced his candidacy for the leadership of the leftist SYRIZA party.