SYRIZA Progressive Alliance's Political Secretariat was scheduled to meet at 5pm on Tuesday at the party's "Mimis Dariotis" offices in Koumoundourou, as the party planned a double visit to the Thessaloniki International Fair, following the path already set by its former leader, Alexis Tsipras, now president of the ELAS party.
Officially, the agenda for the meeting covered a review of the previous session, preparation for the fair, known by its Greek acronym DETH, and planning of actions for the coming period.
In practice, however, the real subject of the meeting was the division of roles among the members of SYRIZA's collective leadership, namely Rena Dourou, Pavlos Polakis and Nikos Pappas, since the balance of power among the party's top figures remains fragile. That did not mean alternative scenarios had not already been worked out.
Rena Dourou, Pavlos Polakis and Nikos Pappas currently share leadership responsibilities at SYRIZA Progressive Alliance, a left-wing party founded by Alexis Tsipras, who went on to serve as Greek prime minister before later leaving the party to found ELAS.
September events on the calendar
Indirectly following Tsipras's own steps, SYRIZA's top officials plan to attend the September 5 rally alongside labour unions. However, the day the party traditionally marks its main appearance in the context of DETH will most likely be Friday, September 11.
Koumoundourou is already planning a central event featuring a speech in Thessaloniki, a press conference held within the framework of DETH, a visit to the exhibition pavilions, and a working meeting with both the city's productive sectors and the management of the fair's organising body. That gives the party's leading officials no shortage of occasions to divide roles among themselves.
The Thessaloniki International Fair is Greece's largest trade exhibition and has long served as a stage for major political speeches, most notably the prime minister's traditional policy address that opens the political autumn.
The party's mixed record at DETH
In recent years SYRIZA Progressive Alliance's presence at DETH has been described as mixed, particularly since Alexis Tsipras stepped down from the party leadership. At times the party was represented at the DETH press conference solely by Nikos Pappas, and at other times by Sokratis Famellos, Pavlos Polakis and other senior officials, during the final stretch of Stefanos Kasselakis's leadership.
