“Tsipras’ focus on ‘Mr. Pantelides’ is a dead end.” The find belongs to its leader SYRIZAwhich calls into question the strategy of the leadership of the official opposition party in an attempt to “stick” interest and get out of the stagnation persistently recorded by polls.

But who are the “gentlemen”? “He is a conservative, slightly phobic family man who prefers to vote for what he considers the least dangerous for himself,” the same leader replies.

The debate is indicative of the concerns and conflicting views that exist regarding the SYRIZA strategy towards the elections. The parameter of discussions, which have many other endings. The general recommendation, of course, is that if we accept that SYRIZA has managed to consolidate its influence on a significant part of the left and expand into the space of the centre-left, it should determine the audience it wants to appeal to and, based on this, to formulate your offer.

And there are many opinions. There is a group of leaders who adhere to the “Mr. Pantelis” doctrine and strongly argue that the battle for the next elections will be decided in this audience. The key criterion is who can best handle the multiple crises, providing confidence in the face of the growing concerns they raise. The main argument of those who believe that this is where the fight should be fought is that this group of voters constantly appears at the polling stations, while other groups turn their backs and prefer to stay on the sidelines.

“Insisting on the term ‘left’ may touch a fixed audience, but it seems that the political proposal needs to be enriched with other words that will have a better ‘gel’.”

“But do we want it? Should we settle for a model of expanding delegitimization of the political system that entails ever-increasing abstention and indifference of citizens, or do we want to provide a vision that reactivates those groups that are turning away from politics? This is the central question of those who consider the emphasis on “Mr. Pantelis” to be completely wrong. And they argue that the near existential stake for SYRIZA is to succeed in becoming a political force that will re-inspire politics among citizens. The reason is that what we used to call the “middle ground” has changed, and voters who identify as middle class are now mired in crisis and hurt in various ways by declining incomes, real estate, which they are struggling to save, from increasing liabilities that they cannot afford to cover. So they need to be approached not in terms of the certainty that they will get back what they feel they are losing, but in terms of a new political proposal.

This part of the internal parametrization of SYRIZA also believes that the prospect of restoring the power of the official opposition party lies in the return to active politics of the part of the voters who resorted to abstention. “The left cannot but be interested in this world. Turning your back also touches her.” And the answer to abstention, in their opinion, is that “citizens feel that their voice matters, that decisions are not made outside of institutions, on the basis of other decision-making centers or the promotion of certain policies and interests.” Of course, there is another problem: the difficulty of restoring trust in the party and its leadership, which was seriously damaged after the 2015 referendum.

And on the periphery of this contradiction, another battle is going on, a battle of faces and words. Finding the golden balance is what is required of the party leadership, which is aware that the provocative and extremist may be repulsive to some of the electorate, but necessary to others. SYRIZA faces the problem of pluralism. What is the correct dosage of Polakis, for example? “Anyone who has seen the recent gathering at Peristeri understands that we are now attracting an audience that wants to hear it. Pole. But how to protect yourself from the negative impact that every Polacky has on an audience that associates it with absolute toxicity?

Problematization

At the same time, reflection on the need to enrich vocabulary and slogans with new terms develops. As a party official admits, this is a problem that the left has failed to respond to in Europe as a whole. Adapt and update speech that often feels out of time. “Insisting on the term ‘leftist’ can inspire a solid audience that follows us, and it is assumed that they are not going to leave us. However, it seems that the political proposal needs to be enriched with other words that will have the best “gel” in the world.