Leader of the Opposition

Main opposition SYRIZA plunged into further turmoil as the proposal of party leader Stefanos Kasselakis for former state minister Nikos Pappas to take over as parliamentary group leader met the reaction of the incumbent Sokratis Famellos, who refused to step down and called for the issue of his replacement to be put to a vote.

The “Kasselistas” are escalating their internal power play, pressuring the five alternates on the SYRIZA State List. So far, the first alternate, Popi Tsapanidou, along with the other four candidates who could claim Iliopoulos’ seat, have remained silent.

Main opposition SYRIZA parliamentary group Leader Sokratis Famellos said in an interview on SKAI TV Wednesday that "Stefanos Kasselakis' role and position are not in question."

"SYRIZA must improve with unity and collectivity. That's what we decided," Famellos said, emphasizing that the public values political substance over who holds the chair.

A week of political tensions lies ahead with the impact of the European elections continuing to resonate across the three big political parties that failed to reach their goals.

The candidates who have so far gathered the most votes are Avtias and Meimarakis from ND, Arvanitis and Farantouris from SYRIZA, and Papandreou and Maniatis from PASOK

Greece's main opposition party SYRIZA said it will vote in favor of a government bill allowing same-sex couples to marry, noting however that the legislation is "incomplete". 

The bill on same-sex marriage has plunged ruling New Democracy and leftist opposition SYRIZA into turmoil.

Indicatively, ND lawmaker Antonis Samaras, a former conservative prime minister, said he opposed the choice of Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis to suggest the solution of abstention to dissenting MPs. 

The new leader of the opposition, Stefanos Kasselakis, began his tenure as leader of the left-wing SYRIZA party by making some modest personnel changes that have already resulted in pushback.

Also, Kasselakis failed to persuade his main rival for the party leadership, lawmaker Effie Achtsioglou, to take any leadership role in the party or the parliamentary group.

Barring any big surprises, Sunday's election race will be a personal triumph for Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Come Monday morning, Greece will be in the unprecedented position of having a new government and no real opposition. SYRIZA is looking at a long period of introspection, with the prospect of dropping back down to the 3% threshold looming large.

New Democracy will win the upcoming elections with a huge margin and Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be re-elected prime minister.

As of now, the most likely scenario is of seven parties entering Parliament, compared to the five that passed the 3% threshold in the May 21 election.