Stefanos Kasselakis, a former Goldman Sachs associate with little political experience, has been elected as the new leader of Greece’s SYRIZA party, the main opposition party in the country. He secured 56.7% of the vote, defeating Effie Achtsioglou, a lawyer and former labor minister, in an election where party members directly voted for their leader.
SYRIZA, which came to power in 2015 during Greece’s debt crisis but lost to the conservative New Democracy party in 2019 and 2023, is seeking a comeback under Kasselakis’s leadership. Kasselakis, a self-made shipping entrepreneur, emphasized ending New Democracy’s hold on power in his campaign.
His victory has generated a mix of reactions, with some seeing his lack of political experience as a challenge, while others view him as a potential threat to center-left and conservative opponents.
Kasselakis replaces Alexis Tsipras, who led SYRIZA with anti-austerity rhetoric during the debt crisis but later accepted international bailouts and austerity measures. Tsipras resigned in June after SYRIZA received only 18% of the vote.
While Kasselakis has no prior political experience, he garnered support during the election with a slick social media campaign. He now faces the task of leading SYRIZA in its efforts to regain political influence in Greece.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis congratulated Kasselakis on his victory and invited him for a meeting in the coming days. Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis expressed the hope for “a serious and credible opposition” and looked forward to hearing Kasselakis’s positions as SYRIZA’s new leader.
