Twenty days of undeclared, underground warfare passed between the night of the European elections and yesterday morning, leading to the open conflict between the President of SYRIZA PS, Stefanos Kasselakis, and his predecessor, bringing the unity of SYRIZA PS into crisis.

Already with the announcement of the election results, which were below Kasselakis’s expectations, barbs and insinuations began to be thrown online against the former Prime Minister and President of SYRIZA PS, Alexis Tsipras, even though the latter attended the main pre-election event at Syntagma Square, sending a message of support for his party.

However, after the poor election performance, the summer gathering of the “entire Center-Left” at the Tsipras Institute’s International Peace Conference, the former Prime Minister’s call for progressive forces to cooperate, and consecutive polls showing Alexis Tsipras as the most suitable leader for a unified progressive entity, further escalated tensions between him and his successor.

Stefanos Kasselakis was quick to declare his presence in the race for the leadership of the Center-Left, even against Mr. Tsipras, during the premiere of the former Prime Minister’s Institute.

With this announcement, he departed for the USA, from where he intervened on Pentecost, further inflaming tensions within the party.

In a manifesto-like post, he launched a full-scale attack against Mr. Tsipras without mentioning his name, accusing him of a series of mistakes, from the government program to the election results, warning his predecessor that he would henceforth be out of Parliament due to the three-term limit, and finally making heavy insinuations about “black funds.”

Following this was the “sudden death” of the daily edition of “Avgi” and the invocation of “chaos” in the finances of SYRIZA PS, strikes at the soft underbelly of Tsipras’s presidency.

Despite internal party pressure, the latter chose not to intervene in the party’s internal affairs, even when directly challenged on issues of “ethics and transparency.”

Instead, seven MPs and 80 members of the Central Committee, with Tsipras’s entire “guard” present, took the baton, requesting in a joint statement that the party organs convene and that the party return to normal functioning rather than a flight toward division.

The Kasselakis side conceded on the matter of convening the party organs, scheduling the Political Secretariat for July 4 and the Central Committee for July 7.

Meanwhile, officials, relatives, friends, and trolls close to the leadership camp spoke of a “coup,” “the Iouliana,” “black money,” and “entanglement.”

Additionally, a process began to collect signatures of support for Mr. Kasselakis on a digital platform, even though the 87 signatories of the joint statement communicated that it was not a “letter of rupture” but a warning, given that with five fewer MPs, SYRIZA PS would lose its institutional role as the main opposition.

Attempting to take up Mr. Tsipras’s challenge, instead of “undermining,” Mr. Kasselakis publicly challenged the former Prime Minister, saying, “Come and take charge, and I will be a loyal soldier in your effort, without undermining you for a moment.”

He warned his predecessor, “But if you don’t wish to, support me in my effort for our party without any games,” implicitly blaming Tsipras for the internal criticism within SYRIZA PS.

The future of the party now hinges on their confrontation.