The rapid ascent of Stefanos Kasselakis, a former Goldman Sachs trader and Greece’s first openly gay party leader, has gripped the nation. But his leadership is dividing the country’s main opposition party.
Kasselakis was an unknown in Greece until this year, having lived in the United States. He worked first as a trader at Goldman Sachs and then ran several shipping companies.
Kasselakis had no known links with Syriza before 2023 and lived in the United States until a few months ago, where, besides running shipping businesses and working for Goldman Sachs, he volunteered for Joe Biden’s 2008 presidential primary campaign and worked at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Based on an analysis of Syriza’s class character as representative of an upper middle class strata, advancing a pro-capitalist programme, the International Committee of the Fourth International warned that it would rapidly renege on its promises and impose the austerity offensive demanded by Greece’s creditors leading to the strengthening of right-wing and fascistic forces.
A slew of enemies confronts the working class in the upcoming elections. There is no political alternative representing the interests of workers, setting up the widely hated ND for another four years in office.