SYRIZA MP Yannis Dragasakis gave a speech at an event entitled “the Left in power” organized by the Greek chapters of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and the Nikos Poulantzas Foundation, where expressed his reservations about the efforts to unite the different factions within SYRIZA.
Mr. Dragasakis himself posed the rhetoric question and commented that “we will discuss it in a year”, while conceding that “we must become [a united party]”. The opposition MP alluded to Marxist ideology and added that he “obviously means a party with a democratic modus operandi, with a directing will”.
Furthermore, Mr. Dragasakis spoke of the need to come up with a “plan B”, in case there is a falling out with the troika, whole noting that major “dilemmas must be discussed with the people”. The opposition MP stressed this could mean elections, a referendum or seeking approval in Parliament, while underling the importance of “establishing a new understanding, deeply democratic in nature”.
When asked whether his party is prepared to come to power, Mr. Dragasakis responded that nobody every rose to power while waiting and the Left never came to power because things were easy. Mr. Dragasakis explained that his party’s program is under constant scrutiny and revision, because “we cannot prepare everything beforehand”.
Finally, the MP remarked that SYRIZA needs an “adaptable” strategy and that “a left strategy means managing victory and defeat, as well a political culture of dialog, which quite often we do not have”.
