Greece: Syriza splits
Forty-six members of Syriza, Greece's main opposition party, tended their resignations during a meeting of its central committee on the weekend. They accuse Stefanos Kasselakis, who was elected party chairman at the end of September, of trying to divert Syriza from its left-wing course. Commentators discuss what this means for the Greek party landscape.
Keep things civil
News site TVXS recommends a judicious approach:
“Now everything should be done in the gentlest possible manner to avoid giving the party's opponents even greater satisfaction and making its members and supporters even more annoyed. The party chairman bears the greatest responsibility. ... Toxic posts and personal attacks should be avoided and the tone softened. If the opposition believes that Mr Kasselakis has no political opinion, it should deal with him in a political way rather than treating him as if he were the 'infiltrated' agent of an invisible enemy. From families to political parties, all sides benefit when divorces are civilised.”
A disgrace
Kathimerini's editor-in-chief Alexis Papachelas comments:
“Syriza is committing suicide and disgracing itself. Whatever emerges from this debacle, it will be a long time before it can shed the image of a disappointed faction and be perceived as a party fit to be in government. Third-placed Pasok doesn't seem to be gaining much from the Syriza crisis for the time being, and that's a shame because it seems to have some promising new functionaries. ... In the meantime, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis continues to enjoy complete dominance on the political stage. ... One of the takeaways from this is no doubt that politics is not for amateurs, for people who simply decided to knock on a party's door and try their luck.”