Efi Achtsioglou

The firm favorite to win the SYRIZA leadership race, Efi Achtsioglou, lambasted the government for being insensitive and incompetent on Saturday, claiming that auctions of foreclosed properties took place during the natural disaster in central Greece.

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.

SYRIZA is holding its leadership contest Sunday, following the party's drubbing in a double national election earlier this year. A potential low turnout, influenced by the disappointing election results and lackluster campaigns of the main contenders, may undermine the legitimacy of the new leader.

Greece's leftist main opposition is holding its standing congress to approve the candidates running for party leadership at the Foundation of the Hellenic World on Saturday.

The congess' agenda includes only that topic, and its proceedings will open at 11 a.m.

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.

Efi Achtsioglou, the frontrunner in the race for a new SYRIZA leader, criticized the center-right government's response to the wildfires raging in Greece for over a week.

"Kyriakos Mitsotakis is using the climate crisis as an excuse to avoid taking any responsibility," Achtsioglou said, referring to the conservative prime minister.

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.

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.