Former EDEK leader Marinos Sizopoulos said on Thursday he was stepping back from any further involvement in the party’s affairs, complaining that he is being systematically excluded from meetings of its governing bodies. EDEK holds internal elections on 12 December, with nominations closing on 30 November.
Attention has meanwhile turned to former MP Costis Efstathiou, who Phileleftheros understands is expected to announce his decisions soon.
“For me, my time in EDEK is over,” Sizopoulos told Sigma TV’s midday programme when asked about efforts to rebuild the party.
Asked how he could distance himself from the party that launched his political career, he acknowledged that it was the party that had made him. He said, however, that he could not be part of the system as it currently stood, which he said was badly undermining seriousness, dignity and integrity, among other things.
Sizopoulos said he was not being invited to meetings of the Political Bureau or the Central Committee, and offered to show the messages. He asked what it meant that he was being systematically excluded, adding that he had a sense of seriousness and dignity that he would not give up. He had asked for an explanation, he said, but had not received one.
Asked directly whether he might leave the party and be struck off its membership register, he did not say whether he would formally resign. He made clear, however, that he wanted no further involvement under the current conditions, saying that however hard it was, decisions had to be made at some point.
Efstathiou weighs his options
Phileleftheros understands that Efstathiou is holding talks with EDEK officials. A photo posted on Thursday on the personal social media account of Chrysos Touloupis, until recently EDEK’s central organising secretary, has fuelled comment and debate within the party about Efstathiou’s intentions.
With the internal elections approaching, there has been talk that Efstathiou could run for the leadership. Phileleftheros understands, however, that he is leaning towards a consensus proposal for all factions in EDEK to work together in a transitional phase, until the party gets back on its feet politically and can move on. The argument is that the party is going through difficult times and that everyone needs to act inclusively so it can heal the wounds of the past.
In an earlier interview on the Politis podcast, Efstathiou said he had proposed a co-presidency to EDEK president Sofia Christodoulou Makri. The proposal was not accepted, and the party’s current leadership takes a different approach.
Those behind the initiative that led to her election as president for the transitional period until the election congress believe EDEK supporters see her and the initiative as the hope for a new chapter. Any other move, they believe, could be a step backwards.
EDEK’s district conferences are currently under way.
