Left-wing opposition party SYRIZA continued to hemorrhage lawmakers on Friday, with lawmakers Olga Gerovasili, a former minister, and Dionysis Kalamatianos announcing they were leaving the party, adding to a wave of defections that has sharply reduced its parliamentary strength.
Earlier Friday, Yiannis Ragousis, also a former minister, and Miltos Zambaras declared themselves independents.
Their exits followed the defections on Thursday of Popi Tsapanidou, Kostas Barkas and Kalliopi Vetta. Together with Symeon Kedikoglou, who has announced his intention to leave but has yet to formally submit his resignation letter, the departures have reduced SYRIZA’s parliamentary group to 13 lawmakers.
Additional departures are expected in the coming days. Former party leader Sokratis Famellos is also considered likely to leave following the party’s Central Committee meeting on Saturday.
SYRIZA rose to power at the height of Greece’s debt crisis in 2015 but lost to the conservative New Democracy party in 2019 and again in the June 2023 election. The party has since been plagued by internal divisions, which intensified after former prime minister Alexis Tsipras announced plans to establish a new political party ahead of the next general election.
